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From: spam@hobbes.cc.iastate.edu (Begley Michael L)
Newsgroups: sci.lang,comp.cog-eng,sci.psychology,sci.philosophy.tech
Subject: Re: Computer Languages and the Sapir/Whorf hypothesis
Keywords: computer languages, Sapir/Whorf hypothesis, linguistics, snow, eskimos
Message-ID: <1990Aug22.194652.7421@fs-1.iastate.edu>
Date: 22 Aug 90 19:46:52 GMT
References: <5137@munnari.oz.au> <1445@anaxagoras.ils.nwu.edu>
Sender: usenet@fs-1.iastate.edu (USENET News System)
Reply-To: spam@iastate.edu (Begley Michael L)
Organization: Iowa State University
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ACK!!!!!!!!!

>(~11 Inuit language words for snow) and (~1 English word for snow)
> ==> (Inuit language and English users think about snow differently)

This is one of those _completely_ false myths.  The eskimo language has
only two words for snow---one that means 'snow that is falling' and 'snow
that has fallen'.  This myth was created by a linguist who published a
paper that stated (in an attempt to demonstrate the same concept you stated)
that the eskimo language has ~25 different words for snow _without_researching_
_the_eskimo_languages_at_all_!  This myth has snowballed (pun intended) into 
guess-timations that there are 10,25,40,100+ different words for snow,
depending on your source, when in fact only two words have been documented.

Having two words for snow is no big deal, either.. how many words do we
have for the stuff, after all?

snow, flakes, slush, sleet, etc...

I can get further information about this (perhaps even post my source
if I can find it) including the 'actual words' for anyone who requests it.

thanks

mike begley
spam@hobbes.cc.iastate.edu