A Linguist's Harrowing Adventure Among The Amazonian Tribes

Don't Sleep, There Are Snakes: Life and Language in the Amazonian Jungle is a book by linguist Daniel Everett, detailing his three decades of studying and living with the Pirahã, a small tribe of Amazonian Indians in Brazil. Everett, a Christian missionary, first arrived at the Pirahã village in 1977 with his wife and three young children, intending to convert the tribe to Christianity. However, he soon became obsessed with their unique language and its cultural and linguistic implications. The Pirahã have no counting system, no fixed terms for colour, no concept of war, and no personal property. Everett was so impressed with their peaceful way of life that he eventually lost faith in the God he had hoped to introduce to them, and instead devoted his life to the science of linguistics.

The Pirahã language

Everett's study of the Pirahã language led him to challenge some widely accepted theories in linguistics, particularly Noam Chomsky's theory of universal grammar. Everett argues that the Pirahã language lacks sentence-level recursion and that it is better understood as a product of culture. He suggests that the Pirahã language is shaped by their culture and values, and that it is impossible to separate the two.

The Pirahãs' unique culture

The Pirahã people are a small tribe of Amazonian Indians in central Brazil. They have a unique culture that differs from the author's European-based culture. Here is a description of their unique culture:

The Pirahã people have a different way of perceiving reality. They have a strong focus on the present and observable, with little interest in creation myths or long-lasting artefacts. They value their present and observable reality so highly that they make no effort to create long-lasting artefacts or invent creation myths. They have no counting system, no fixed terms for colours, no concept of war, and no personal property. They also have a unique language with no sentence-level recursion. Their language is made up of only three vowels and eight consonants and has a complex system of varying tones and stresses. Their language is unrelated to any other, and they have different kinship terms and abstract concepts.

The Pirahã people also have a different way of interacting with their environment. They believe that sleeping less will "harden" them and that danger is all around them in the jungle. They laugh and talk a lot at night and rarely sleep for several hours straight. They are content with their way of life and are not interested in foreign culture or goods. They are happy, independent, and have a gentle skepticism. They are also unconcerned with materialism or modern science and technology.

The Pirahã people's unique culture has had a significant impact on the author, Daniel Everett. He initially came to the tribe as a Christian missionary but eventually lost his faith due to their gentle skepticism and his observations of their peaceful way of life. He also developed a new understanding of the relationship between language and culture and challenged some widely accepted theories in linguistics.

Everett's personal memoir

Daniel Everett's memoir, 'Don't Sleep, There Are Snakes', is a fascinating account of his three decades living with the Pirahã, a small tribe of Amazonian Indians in Brazil. Everett, a linguist and former Christian missionary, first arrived in the Amazon in 1977 with his wife and three young children, intending to convert the tribe to Christianity. However, Everett's interactions with the Pirahã led him to question his own faith and eventually lose it.

Everett's memoir is a detailed account of his experiences with the Pirahã and their unique way of life. The Pirahã have no counting system, no fixed terms for colour, no concept of war, and no personal property. They live entirely in the present and are remarkably content with their way of life. Everett's memoir also explores the Pirahã's language, which defies all existing linguistic theories. He argues that the Pirahã's language and culture are inextricably linked and that you cannot understand one without the other.

Everett's time with the Pirahã was not without challenges. He and his family faced numerous health scares, including several bouts of malaria, and he also encountered resistance from the Pirahã, who were uninterested in converting to Christianity. Despite these difficulties, Everett's memoir is a testament to the resilience and adaptability of both himself and the Pirahã. He describes the Pirahã as "the dearest friends I have ever had" and reflects on the many lessons he learned from them.

'Don't Sleep, There Are Snakes' is a powerful memoir that offers a unique perspective on language, culture, and human nature. It is a story of personal growth and transformation, as Everett's initial goal of converting the Pirahã is gradually replaced by a deeper understanding of and appreciation for their way of life.

The loss of Christian faith

In his book, 'Don't Sleep, There Are Snakes', Daniel L. Everett describes his journey from Christian missionary to atheist. Everett's faith is challenged by his experiences with the Pirahã people of the Amazonian jungle. He finds their language and way of life fascinating and at odds with his own beliefs. The Pirahã have no fixed terms for colour, no counting system, no concept of war or personal property, and they live entirely in the present. Everett becomes obsessed with their language and way of life, and eventually loses his faith in God.

Everett's initial goal in travelling to the Amazon was to convert the Pirahã people to Christianity. However, he quickly became more interested in their unique language and way of life. The Pirahã language lacks numbers, colours, and demonstratives, challenging the widely accepted theory of universal grammar. Everett also questions other linguistic theories, such as the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, which suggests that the structure of a language determines how its speakers perceive the world. The absence of number words in Pirahã challenges the idea that numerical concepts are essential to human cognition.

The Pirahã people live a simple, nomadic lifestyle, devoid of material possessions and with a strong emphasis on communal living. Their language reflects this simplicity, with no words for complex concepts such as religion, history, or fiction. They reject outside influences and have a strong aversion to any form of authority. Their culture is built on immediate experience, and their language lacks the ability to discuss events that are not directly experienced by the speaker.

Everett's scientific principles are also put to the test during his time with the Pirahã. His experiences challenge established linguistic theories and force him to reconsider his understanding of human cognition and communication. He begins to view language as a cultural tool, shaped by the unique experiences and values of each community.

Everett's initial goal of converting the Pirahã people to Christianity is replaced by a deep respect for their culture and way of life. His observations lead him to question the foundations of his faith, and he eventually abandons his religious beliefs. He says that he was having serious doubts by 1982 and had abandoned all faith by 1985. However, he did not tell anyone about his atheism until the late 1990s. When he finally did, his marriage ended in divorce, and two of his three children broke off all contact.

The nature of language

In his book, *Don't Sleep, There Are Snakes: Life and Language in the Amazonian Jungle*, linguist Daniel Everett recounts his experiences living with the Pirahã, a small tribe of Amazonian Indians in central Brazil. Everett's journey began in 1977 when he arrived with his wife and three young children, intending to convert the tribe to Christianity. However, Everett quickly became fascinated by the Pirahã language and its cultural and linguistic implications. Over three decades, Everett spent a total of seven years among the Pirahã, and his account offers a riveting exploration of language, thought, and life itself.

The Uniqueness of the Pirahã Language

The Pirahã language defies existing linguistic theories and reflects a way of life that is vastly different from contemporary understanding. Here are some unique features of the Pirahã language and how they relate to their culture:

• No Counting System or Fixed Terms for Color: The Pirahã have no concept of exact quantification and are unable to distinguish between groups of objects containing five or six items. They use a "one-two-many" system, with no words for specific numbers beyond these. This is related to their focus on the "immediacy of experience," where only direct observations or experiences within living memory are considered valid.
• Lack of Recursion: The Pirahã language does not allow for sentence embedding or nested clauses, challenging Chomsky's theory of universal grammar. Everett argues that this is due to the intimate nature of Pirahã communication, where context is often understood without the need for complex grammatical structures.
• Simple Kinship Terminology: The Pirahã have a very basic system for referring to family relationships, with only a few terms to cover a wide range of relatives. This reflects their flexible and fluid understanding of kinship, which is not bound by strict categories.
• Absence of Creation Myths or Formal Religion: The Pirahã have no creation stories or formal religious structures. They live in the present and are uninterested in events that occurred outside of living memory. Their spiritual experiences are often tied to the natural world, such as interactions with spirits or visions.

The Impact on Everett's Life and Beliefs

Everett's immersion in the Pirahã culture had a profound impact on his life and beliefs. He became obsessed with their language and eventually lost faith in the God he had hoped to introduce to them. He questioned modern linguistic theory and dedicated his life to the science of linguistics. Everett's experiences with the Pirahã also led him to value the importance of preserving endangered languages, as each language provides a unique window into a culture's way of life and its solutions to universal human problems.

Through his experiences with the Pirahã, Everett gained invaluable insights into the nature of language, thought, and life. He learned that language is deeply intertwined with culture, and that our perceptions of reality can be shaped by our expectations, experiences, and cultural context. Everett's journey challenges us to question our assumptions, embrace diversity, and seek a deeper understanding of the world around us.

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