The author speaks first of his efforts to convert the Pirahãs to Christianity, then of his own loss of faith when he has no success in proselytizing. The final section of the book, although entitled “Conclusion,” comes as a surprise because little or no foundation has been laid for it. He even attempts to show that many Pirahã sentences are incomprehensible without a fairly thorough knowledge of their culture. Rather, Everett posits that language is an emergent phenomenon that arises from culture and from general cognitive properties. The unusual structure of their language has also led Everett to challenge Chomsky’s concept of a universal grammar and an innate predisposition to language, i.e., a language-specific component of our biological endowment. This discovery by Everett is particularly significant because it goes contrary to the theory of Noam Chomsky, the famous linguistic theorist, who argues that recursion is the cornerstone of all languages, and what differentiates man from other mammals. Everett argues that it is impossible to construct recursive individual sentences in Pirahã. Its grammar allows only one modifier to be used in connection with any noun or verb. However, the language is believed to have no words for numbers or colors. In addition to talking, they can sing, hum, or whistle conversations. Natives compensate, however, by employing a complex system of tones and stresses. Unrelated to any other extant tongue, it contains only eight consonants and three vowels, and thus is quite limited in the number of sounds it uses. Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of Pirahã life is the language they speak. They consider their tribe and their lifestyle to be superior to any other. Also, they have no sense of history and no creation myths. They have little or no interest in modern conveniences, tools, or medicine. They are exceedingly tough and independent, but live only in the immediate present, and seldom plan ahead more than one day. More interesting is the author’s description of the worldview of the Pirahã. In particular, the story of a bout with malaria suffered by both his wife and his daughter is harrowing because it was so difficult to get from the Pirahã stronghold to a hospital. The memoir aspect of the book is somewhat absorbing as we learn how the author and his family were able to cope with nearly complete isolation from western civilization. This book is a memoir of that time, but it is also a detailed description of the civilization and culture of the Pirahã and an analysis of their very unusual language. Note: This review is by my husband Jim, who read this for a book club.ĭaniel Everett is a professor of linguistics at Illinois State University who spent several years among the Pirahã Indians of Amazonian Brazil.
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