What is special about the Pirahã language?

22crows

Pirahã (also spelled Pirahá, Pirahán; Portuguese: Pirarrã; Pirahã language: xapaitíiso) is a language spoken by the Pirahã — an indigenous people of Amazonas, Brazil, who live along the Maici River, a tributary of the Amazon. Pirahã is believed to be the only surviving member of the Mura language family, all other members having become extinct in the last few centuries. It is therefore a language isolate, without any known connection to other living languages. It is estimated to have between 250 and 380 speakers. It is not thought to be in danger of extinction, as its use is vigorous and the Pirahã community is mostly monolingual. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pirah%C3%A3_language Nov 09 09, 2:02 AM

author

The facts presented are correct - but it misses my point: Why is this language the basis of a modern scientific controversy? Nov 09 09, 2:05 AM

22crows

Perhaps that was the question you should have asked then. If you are referring to the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis or recent controversy about this language, they are are mentioned further down the link. Nov 09 09, 3:05 AM

Baloo55th

"Pirahã can be whistled, hummed, or encoded in music. In fact, Keren Everett believes that current research on the language misses much of its meaning by paying little attention to the musical aspect of it (prosody). Consonants and vowels may be omitted altogether and the meaning conveyed solely through variations in pitch, stress, and rhythm. She says that mothers teach their children the language through constantly singing the same musical patterns." The conclusions of Daniel and Keren Everett are hotly disputed by those that say these are based on things wot ain't thur or have been wrongly interpreted. The Everetts say that the above and other features of the language (including the apparent borrowing by an isolate of a full set or personal pronouns) challenge Chomsky and his (very) widelt accepted linguistic ideas. Quote from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pirah%C3%A3_language The language is also claimed to be without the concept of number and to have a truly minimal set of consonants and vowels. It can be whistled. (Baloo has a hypothesis that just conceivably the vast spread of differing language constructions around the globe, coupled with the apparent complexity of early grammar (now generally being simplified), represents an experiment run by someone up there to find the best way of communicating. When he is thinking this, he has an inexplicable urge to get some cheese out of the fridge....) Nov 09 09, 4:01 AM

author

The Piraha language lacks words for quantity. So my question, poorly expressed as it is, relates to this fact, and how this has confused modern scientists. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1200/is_24_168/ai_n16029317/ Nov 09 09, 6:09 AM