910: Guugu Yimithirr's Lack of Relative Positions Jun 6, 2017

There are many aspects to language, particularly in vocabulary that are fairly consistent from language to language. Even if an idea that can be expressed with a single word in one language has to be composed of two or more, theoretically it should be the case that anyone can say anything no matter what. In the case of the Australian language Guugu Yimithirr, as just one example, not everything is so simple. Its claim to fame, so to speak, is that there is no term for 'left' or 'right', and instead the people use the cardinal points North, South, East, and West. Children have to learn the concepts of left and right at a young age anyway, but just as how an English-speaking adult could identify where left is regardless of location, the speakers of Guugu Yimithirr could identify North even when spun around or in a windowless room. In memory as well people can recount cardinal direction in the same way an English speaker could remember relative position. Either way, it just takes training and practice in early childhood and beyond in order to master either relative positions or cardinal directions.