878: Anumberic languages May 4, 2017

People who are brought up in cultures that use numberless languages such as the Manduruku in Amazonia have a comparatively more difficult time observing and recalling quantities greater than even three. According to the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, which in its strong form tries to explain that one's native language determines the way one thinks and is able to interpret the world, these anumeric languages would merely be an example that not having numbers such as 'one' 'two' 'three', and instead using words equivalent to 'some' or 'many' results in that speaker's inability to comprehend these concepts. While it may seem reasonable on the surface, the issue is not simply linguistic in its nature. For anyone, regardless of one's first language, learning to count numbers requires a great deal of time and energy and aside from recognizing two quantities as different in size, almost nothing is innate about numbers which can take years to comprehend. Anyone has the ability to learn these same skills irrespective of mother-tongue. Historically too, the precise numbers in which people in industrialized cultures may often interpret the world were far less important, and were comparatively little-used.

For more on how aspects of Amazonian languages can seem completely different from more familiar ones, click here.