The Brazilian Pirahã Language - Living without Time, Colours or Numbers!

This isolated Amazonian Language is considered one of the most difficult languages to learn. Read below to find out why...

The Pirahã people of Central Brazil have no word to describe history, no descriptive words and no subordinate clauses. That makes their language one of the most difficult to learn and strangest in the world - and also one of the most hotly debated by linguists.

Linguists, led by Chomsky, spent decades in trying to understand and describe how languages work. By thoroughly studying a handful of human languages, they were able to devise a theory, i.e. Universal Grammar, which could explain all possible human languages with all their hidden features and peculiarities. However, Universal Grammar, in itself, is a very contested concept anyway…

Every single language fits in this grammar structure quite nicely. They were able to account for all the differences between human languages and how they are effortlessly (and often impressively) learned by children of 4. Thanks to these constructs, we now know more about language than ever before.

Then came along Pirahã, the language that defies all the logic of modern linguistics and breaks the mould.

A tiny tribe living deep in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest, the Pirahã people have some of the world’s top researchers questioning the fundamentals of human language.

The Pirahã’s speak a rare and mysterious language of the same name that is being considered as completely different from every other language in the world. Unique, in fact.

There are only a few hundred Pirahã tribes people, who speak a language of the same name. They have resolutely avoided any cultural dilution whatsoever, including learning Portuguese.

This means that cross-language comparisons with Pirahã have been extraordinarily difficult, nigh on impossible…

Nothing that applies to how language works is found in Pirahã. It’s sort of a linguistic anomaly that is like a counterexample to the basic tenets of Universal Grammar.

For one, it is an isolated language - it has no kinship to any other language, it is not in any recognised language family.

Furthermore, it has a completely different structure than any other language and so it is exceedingly difficult to learn. It is classified as one of the strongest pieces of evidence for Linguistic Relativity.

In 2008, researchers from MIT found support for one of the most controversial claims about the language — the idea that it might lack a feature known as ‘recursion’. This language basis is considered as a basic principle of all languages spoken on our planet.

Recursion is how languages build in flexibility - it lets us nest sentences (and clauses) inside of each other. A key feature is that there's no limit to how long a sentence can get.

This might not seem very significant. But linguists have been grappling for decades with what exactly defines a language, and if there are any features that they all share.

That's why recursion is special. By most accounts, every single known language on earth uses recursion — with the possible exception of Pirahã.

The Pirahãs use only 3 vowels and 8 consonants. These have been transcribed phonetically by linguists because this language is in fact only spoken. No written form exists.

But many sounds carry many meanings. The tribe does not conjugate verbs, neither with a future nor a past tense. Every Pirahã verb has at least 65,000 forms!

Linguists say a foreigner with an average memory would need about 10 years to be able to communicate basically in Pirahã. As such, it is classified as one of the most difficult languages to learn!

The language is also incredibly spare. The Pirahã use only three pronouns. They hardly use any words associated with time and they do not do past tense verb conjugations. No need…

Apparently colours aren't very important to the Pirahãs, either - they don't describe any of them in their language.

But of all the curiosities, the one that irks linguists the most is that Pirahã is likely the only language in the world that doesn't use subordinate clauses.

Instead of saying, "When I have finished eating, I would like to speak with you," the Pirahãs say, "I finish eating, I speak with you."

Equally head-scratching: In their day-to-day lives, the Pirahãs do not seem to care much for numbers or their use.

There is one word, "hói," which does come close to the numeral 1. But it can also mean "small" or describe a relatively small amount - like two small fish as opposed to one big fish, for example.

And they don't even appear to count without language, on their fingers for example, as is done in so many parts of the world. So, supposedly this means there is no need to determine how many pieces of meat they have to grill for the villagers, how many days of meat they have left or how much they demand from Brazilian traders for their six baskets of Brazil nuts. Crazy concept, no?

The Pirahã language has no word to express the concept of “one” or any other specific number. There are words for abstract quantities like “some”, “more”, “small quantity” and “large quantity”, but there are no finite numbers like “two” or “three.”

This finding bowled over other long-held linguistics’ beliefs - namely, that human brains are naturally wired to count and that numbers are an inherent part of language. Instead, it appears more likely that counting is an invention of human culture, as the Pirahã’s have so aptly demonstrated…

And it wasn’t only with numbers that the Pirahã were different; they also lack names and uses for colours. This isn’t to say that they are all colourblind. It is just that they don’t categorise the colour spectrum into more gradations or specific colours such as teal, tan or taupe.

We might think it natural to be able to distinguish and name the tones on our paint swatches – but this isn’t necessarily for the Pirahã. Just as with numbers, they conceive of colours in relative terms. That is, something can be “darker” or “like blood.”

Can you imagine what it would be like if you had no words to classify the colours you see? What if you didn’t have numbers? It would certainly alter the way you interpreted your surroundings.

The research done on the Pirahã language goes to reinforce the idea that language is created by the culture. The core of Pirahã culture is a simple formula: "Live here and now." The only thing of importance that is worth communicating to others is what is being experienced at that very moment. All experience is anchored in the presence. This ‘carpe-diem’ culture doesn't allow for abstract thought or complicated connections to the past - limiting the language accordingly.

Even the names the villagers give to their children aren't particularly imaginative. Often they are named after other members of the tribe which whom they share similar traits. Whatever isn't important in the present is quickly forgotten by the Pirahã. Very few can remember the names of all four grandparents.

Following the research undertaken by MIT, linguists think they may find a similar cultural influences on language elsewhere, if they look for it. But up till now, many defend the widely accepted theories from Chomsky, according to which all human languages have a universal grammar that form basic rules enabling children to put meaning and syntax to a combination of words.

We use language to conceptualise the world as we see it. Imagine not having a word for “worry” because no such notion exists. This is true of the Pirahã. It’s not that their lives aren’t without hardships, it is just that they just perceive and conceive of the world differently.

Such a great way of looking at life. How amazing would it be if we could all live this way, thinking about the here and now and not stressing about the past or fretting about the future.

I, for one, would sign up to this way of living.

Would you?

#JPReflects