5.6: Language and the Environment

The environment shapes language and in turn, attitudes about nature are shaped by language. There are the obvious things, like the large number of words in Castilian Spanish for rough, hilly terrain versus English. However, it is probably a myth to argue that Eskimos have 50 words for snow. The point is that people alter languages to the physical environment so that their speakers have a better chance of surviving.

A new line of research in linguistics finds that other elements in the environment may have an effect on the way language sounds. One anthropologist recently found that languages developed in high latitudes with “ejective sounds” using a burst of air are more common among cultures living at high altitudes.

Figure 5-15: West Texas –Road Sign. The word "draw" is a regional expression for a stream. In other parts of the US, you'll find locals use words like: river, creek, brook, wash, or run.

Another fascinating recent study of particular interest to geographers is from the world of cognitive psychology. Researchers have found that people spatial thinking (ability to navigate) is shaped by their language. For example, Australian Aboriginals who speak Kuuk Thaayorre, don’t have words for left and right, so in order to give people directions or even remark on something mundane, like “there’s a bug on your left leg”, they must reference cardinal directions (north, south, east and west). So, they would say, “There’s a bug on your north leg”. In order to do that, they and the person to whom they are speaking must know at all times where they are. If you were walking while having a conversation in Kuuk Thaayorre, and turned to the right, then they would have to say, “The bug is on your east leg”. For people born into languages that rely upon cardinal directions rather than terms “left” and “right”, their brains become hard wired like a GPS. These folks become acutely aware of where they are at all times, and researchers have found it difficult to disorient even small children by blindfolding them or placing them in windowless rooms, etc. These effects spill over into many other cognitive abilities as well, including how people experience time and how they see cause and effect. It’s just another example of what you know being shaped by how you know it. It reminds us to pause a moment before dismiss what others think of as “truth”.