589:, "Yet Igor Krupnik, an anthropologist at the Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center in Washington DC believes that Boas was careful to include only words representing meaningful distinctions. Taking the same care with their own work, Krupnik and others have now charted the vocabulary of about 10 Inuit and Yupik dialects and conclude that there are indeed many more words for snow than in English (SIKU: Knowing Our Ice, 2010). Central Siberian Yupik has 40 such terms, whereas the Inuit dialect spoken in Nunavik, Quebec, has at least 53, including matsaaruti, wet snow that can be used to ice a sleigh's runners, and pukak, for the crystalline powder snow that looks like salt. For many of these dialects, the vocabulary associated with sea ice is even richer."
32:
620:- for snow considered as stuff lying on the ground and covering things up, a root meaning "slush", a root meaning "blizzard", a root meaning "drift", and a few others -- very roughly the same number of roots as in English. Nonetheless, the number of distinct words you can derive from them is not 50, or 150, or 1500, or a million, but simply unbounded. Only stamina sets a limit.
335:
other terms express water in the form of RAIN, DEW, WAVE, and FOAM. It is perfectly conceivable that this variety of ideas, each of which is expressed by a single independent term in
English, might be expressed in other languages by derivations from the same term. Another example of the same kind, the words for SNOW in Eskimo, may be given. Here we find one word,
334:
To take again the example of
English, we find that the idea of WATER is expressed in a great variety of forms: one term serves to express water as a LIQUID; another one, water in the form of a large expanse (LAKE); others, water as running in a large body or in a small body (RIVER and BROOK); still
202:
repeated Martin's critique, calling the process by which the so-called "myth" was created the "Great Eskimo
Vocabulary Hoax". Pullum argued that the fact that the number of word roots for snow is about equally large in Eskimoan languages and English indicates that there exists no difference in the
230:
to words to express the same concepts expressed in
English and many other languages by means of compound words, phrases, and even entire sentences. One can create a practically unlimited number of new words in the Eskimoan languages on any topic, not just snow, and these same concepts can be
242:
nature of Inuit language and included "only words representing meaningful distinctions" in his account. Igor
Krupnik, an anthropologist at the Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center in Washington, supports Boas's work but notes that Boas was careful to include only words representing meaningful
146:
hypothesis or "Whorfianism", posits that a language's vocabulary (among other features) shapes or limits its speakers' view of the world. This interpretation is widely criticized by linguists, though a 2010 study supports the core notion that the Yupik and Inuit languages have many more
1072:. In: Building Capacity in Arctic Societies: Dynamics and shifting perspectives. Proceedings from the 2nd IPSSAS Seminar. Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada: May 26-June 6, 2003, ed. by François Trudel. Montreal: CIÉRA—Faculté des sciences sociales Université Laval.
190:
as
English does, with the structure of these languages tending to allow more variety as to how those roots can be modified in forming a single word. A good deal of the ongoing debate thus depends on how one defines "word", and perhaps even "word root".
203:
size of their respective vocabularies to define snow. Other specialists in the matter of
Eskimoan languages and Eskimoan knowledge of snow and especially sea ice argue against this notion and defend Boas's original fieldwork amongst the
749:
231:
expressed in other languages using combinations of words. In general and especially in this case, it is not necessarily meaningful to compare the number of words between languages that create words in different ways due to different
382:
We have the same word for falling snow, snow on the ground, snow hard packed like ice, slushy snow, wind-driven snow – whatever the situation may be. To an Eskimo, this all-inclusive word would be almost
1123:
783:
Nils
Jernsletten,- "Sami Traditional Terminology: Professional Terms Concerning Salmon, Reindeer and Snow", Sami Culture in a New Era: The Norwegian Sami Experience. Harald Gaski ed. Karasjok: Davvi Girji,
355:
The essential morphological question is why a language would say, for example, "lake", "river", and "brook" instead of something like "waterplace", "waterfast", and "waterslow". English has many
194:
The first re-evaluation of the claim was by linguist Laura Martin in 1986, who traced the history of the claim and argued that its prevalence had diverted attention from serious research into
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distinctions. Krupnik and others charted the vocabulary of about 10 Inuit and Yupik dialects and concluded that they indeed have many more words for snow than
English does.
631:
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238:
On the other hand, some anthropologists have argued that Boas, who lived among Baffin islanders and learned their language, did in fact take account of the
310:
of Norway, Sweden and
Finland, conclude that the languages have anywhere from 180 snow- and ice-related words and as many as 300 different words for
78:
399:, inflated the figure in sensationalized stories: by 1978, the number quoted had reached fifty, and on February 9, 1984, an unsigned editorial in
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374:, holds that the language we speak both affects and reflects our view of the world. This idea is also reflected in the concept behind
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1124:"Franz Boas and Inuktitut Terminology for Ice and Snow: From the Emergence of the Field to the "Great Eskimo Vocabulary Hoax""
541:"Franz Boas and Inuktitut Terminology for Ice and Snow: From the Emergence of the Field to the "Great Eskimo Vocabulary Hoax""
1104:
736:
560:
1241:
163:, whose name is connected with the hypothesis. The idea is commonly tied to larger discussions on the connections between
1077:
Cichocki, Piotr and Marcin Kilarski (2010). "On 'Eskimo Words for Snow': The life cycle of a linguistic misconception".
539:
Krupnik, Igor; Müller-Wille, Ludger (2010), Krupnik, Igor; Aporta, Claudio; Gearheard, Shari; Laidler, Gita J. (eds.),
1135:
1059:
887:
1015:
Martin, Laura (1986). "Eskimo Words for Snow: A case study in the genesis and decay of an anthropological example".
804:"Martin, Laura. 1986. "Eskimo Words for Snow": A Case Study in the Genesis and Decay of an Anthropological Example.
731:, Geoffrey K. Pullum, With a Foreword by James D. McCawley. 246 p., 1 figure, 2 tables, Spring 1991, LC: 90011286,
409:
contends that Inuit and other related dialects do not possess an extraordinarily large number of terms for snow.
244:
1091:. Studies in the History of the Language Sciences. Vol. 129. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. pp. 275–322.
1082:
837:
Boas, Franz. 1911. Handbook of American Indian languages pp. 25-26. Boas "utilized" this part also in his book
378:. In a popular 1940 article on the subject, Whorf referred to Eskimo languages having several words for snow:
992:
1205:
1073:
263:, for crystalline powder snow that looks like salt. Within these dialects, the vocabulary associated with
1221:
861:
388:
962:
Fortescue, Michael D.; Jacobson, Steven; Kaplan, Lawrence, eds. (2010). "PE apun 'snow (on ground)'".
839:
674:
1126:, in Krupnik, Igor; Aporta, Claudio; Gearheard, Shari; Laidler, Gita J.; Holm, Lene Kielsen (eds.),
937:
Fortescue, Michael D.; Jacobson, Steven; Kaplan, Lawrence, eds. (2010). "PE aniɣu 'snow (fallen)'".
1226:
912:
Fortescue, Michael D.; Jacobson, Steven; Kaplan, Lawrence, eds. (2010). "PE qaniɣ 'falling snow'".
57:
1170:
603:
359:, but Boas's intent may have been to connect differences in culture with differences in language.
1246:
446:'snow on the ground'. These three stems are found in all Inuit languages and dialects—except for
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than the English language. The original claim is loosely based in the work of anthropologist
116:
916:(2nd ed.). Alaska Native Language Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks. p. 310.
966:(2nd ed.). Alaska Native Language Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks. p. 40.
941:(2nd ed.). Alaska Native Language Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks. p. 31.
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The first reference to Inuit having multiple words for snow is in the introduction to
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The Great Eskimo Vocabulary Hoax and other Irreverent Essays on the Study of Language
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774:, International Social Science Journal Volume 58, Issue 187, pages 25–34, March 2006.
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The Great Eskimo Vocabulary Hoax and Other Irreverent Essays on the Study of Language
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Whorf, Benjamin Lee. 1949. "Science and Linguistics" Reprinted in Carroll 1956.
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Does the Linguistic Theory at the Center of the Film ‘Arrival’ Have Any Merit?
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675:"On "Eskimo Words for Snow": The life cycle of a linguistic misconception"
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and Russia, use at least 180 words related to snow and ice, according to
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20:
477:, nor are their languages Inuit or Iñupiaq, but all are classifiable as
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hypothesis. In linguistic terminology, the relevant languages are the
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A History of the Study of the Indigenous Languages of North America
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Yngve Ryd. Snö--en renskötare berättar. Stockholm: Ordfront, 2001.
481:, lending further ambiguity to the "Eskimo words for snow" debate.
1130:, Berlin: Springer Science & Business Media, pp. 377–99,
1128:
SIKU: Knowing Our Ice: Documenting Inuit Sea Ice Knowledge and Use
264:
252:
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198:. A subsequent influential and humorous, and polemical, essay by
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did not make quantitative claims but rather pointed out that the
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The list of snow-referring roots to stick on isn't that long :
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259:, for wet snow that can be used to ice a sleigh's runners, and
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are not polysynthetic, making it easier to distinguish words.
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853:
505: – Neologism for a type of cliché and phrasal template
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of the linguistic relativity hypothesis, also known as the
772:
Diversity in Saami terminology for reindeer, snow, and ice
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597:
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19:"Eskimo snow" redirects here. For the album by Why?, see
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gave the number as one hundred. However, the linguist
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Some of them are borrowed from other languages, like
547:, Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, pp. 377–400,
314:, tracks in snow, and conditions of the use of snow.
584:
David Robson, New Scientist 2896, December 18 2012,
498:
Pages displaying wikidata descriptions as a fallback
1160:. Washington DC: Arctic Studies Center Smithsonian.
1121:
989:"Inuit Snow Terms: How Many and What Does It Mean?"
649:"Bad science reporting again: the Eskimos are back"
538:
159:and was particularly promoted by his contemporary,
1087:Kilarski, Marcin (2021). "Eskimo words for snow".
964:Comparative Eskimo Dictionary: With Aleut Cognates
939:Comparative Eskimo Dictionary: With Aleut Cognates
914:Comparative Eskimo Dictionary: With Aleut Cognates
1070:Inuit Snow Terms: How Many and What Does It Mean?
275:, Krupnik documented 70 terms for ice including:
73:for phonetic transcriptions, with an appropriate
1213:
673:Cichocki, Piotr; Kilarski, Marcin (2010-11-16).
672:
287:, ice that is filled with holes. Similarly, the
299:, a linguist in Norway. Unlike Inuit dialects,
339:, expressing SNOW ON THE GROUND; another one,
750:"There really are 50 Eskimo words for 'snow'"
393:Words and Things: An Introduction to Language
1122:Krupnik, Igor; Müller-Wille, Ludger (2010),
111:, particularly in contrast to English, is a
417:Three distinct word roots with the meaning
317:
251:, the Inuktitut dialect spoken in Canada's
115:commonly used to support the controversial
1145:Are there really 50 Eskimo words for snow?
930:
905:
586:Are there really 50 Eskimo words for snow?
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579:
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1043:
469:people (among others) however, are not
182:have about the same number of distinct
1214:
986:
747:
496: – 2011 studio album by Kate Bush
326:(1911) by linguist and anthropologist
1171:Geoffrey K. Pullum's explanation from
574:
324:Handbook of American Indian languages
1050:. Blackwell Publishers Inc. p.
534:
532:
526:. New York: HarperCollins. pp. 54-55
25:
1156:Weyapuk, Winton Jr, et al. (2012).
412:
347:, DRIFTING SNOW; and a fourth one,
291:, who live in the northern tips of
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279:, ice that lasts year after year;
255:region has at least 53, including
63:for transliterated languages, and
43:of its non-English content, using
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713:The Great Eskimo Vocabulary Hoax
604:Geoffrey K. Pullum's explanation
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1038:. University of Chicago Press.
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397:Aspects of Language and Culture
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1158:Kiŋikmi Sigum Qanuq Ilitaavut
993:Alaska Native Language Center
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343:, FALLING SNOW; a third one,
1206:100+ Inuit Words for Sea Ice
748:Robson, David (2013-01-14).
727:, Chapter 19, p. 159-171 of
553:10.1007/978-90-481-8587-0_16
7:
1242:Stereotypes of Inuit people
1079:Historiographia Linguistica
987:Kaplan, Larry (June 2003).
679:Historiographia Linguistica
484:
387:Later writers, prominently
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450:, the main dialect of the
421:are reconstructed for the
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1192:, including English lists
840:The Mind of Primitive Man
395:and Carol Eastman in her
1044:Spencer, Andrew (1991).
318:Origins and significance
136:strongest interpretation
1196:Snow' lexemes in Yup'ik
1179:"Eskimo" words for snow
1017:American Anthropologist
806:American Anthropologist
638:. Smithsonian Magazine.
522:Pinker, Steven (1994).
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442:
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423:Proto-Eskimoan language
267:is even richer. In the
207:, at the time known as
1143:Robson, David (2012).
1068:Kaplan, Larry (2003).
888:"There's Snow Synonym"
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353:
245:Central Siberian Yupik
121:Eskimo–Aleut languages
691:10.1075/hl.37.3.03cic
545:SIKU: Knowing Our Ice
524:The Language Instinct
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364:linguistic relativity
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196:linguistic relativity
117:linguistic relativity
105:Eskimo words for snow
1047:Morphological theory
843:. 1911. pp. 145-146.
636:Smithsonian Magazine
630:Panko, Ben (2016). "
452:Greenlandic language
362:The hypothesis of
226:language groups add
165:language and thought
41:specify the language
39:This article should
1032:Pullum, Geoffrey K.
754:The Washington Post
616:- for a snowflake,
439:'fallen snow', and
123:, specifically the
1222:Eskaleut languages
1184:2008-06-21 at the
1097:10.1075/sihols.129
1081:37 (3), 341–377.
1025:2012-06-29 at the
973:978-1-555-00-109-4
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894:. February 9, 1984
892:The New York Times
770:Ole Henrik Magga,
719:2018-12-03 at the
407:Geoffrey K. Pullum
402:The New York Times
372:Benjamin Lee Whorf
357:snow-related words
200:Geoffrey K. Pullum
180:Eskaleut languages
161:Benjamin Lee Whorf
109:unusually numerous
1151:no. 2896, 72–73.
1106:978-90-272-1049-4
737:978-0-226-68534-2
562:978-90-481-8586-3
492:50 Words for Snow
376:general semantics
247:has 40 terms. In
218:Languages in the
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81:may also be used.
16:Linguistic cliché
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368:Edward Sapir
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289:Sámi peoples
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75:ISO 639 code
71:}}
65:{{
61:}}
55:{{
51:}}
45:{{
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389:Roger Brown
330:. He says:
293:Scandinavia
233:grammatical
131:varieties.
21:Eskimo Snow
1232:Snowclones
1216:Categories
998:2021-12-10
898:2008-06-07
868:(Russian).
862:penitentes
860:(French),
856:(German),
824:2019-06-13
659:2016-05-10
568:2023-01-16
510:References
328:Franz Boas
257:matsaaruti
184:word roots
176:Franz Boas
157:Franz Boas
149:root words
1115:244025983
699:0302-5160
503:Snowclone
345:piqsirpoq
92:June 2024
1200:reposted
1182:Archived
1034:(1991).
1023:Archived
866:sastrugi
717:Archived
485:See also
349:qimuqsuq
228:suffixes
171:Overview
494:(album)
479:Eskimos
475:Iñupiat
391:in his
265:sea ice
253:Nunavik
84:See why
1134:
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463:Yup'ik
277:utuqaq
209:Eskimo
113:cliché
1111:S2CID
818:(PDF)
811:(PDF)
784:1997.
471:Inuit
458:aniɣu
456:*
441:*
436:aniɣu
434:*
429:qaniɣ
427:*
285:auniq
261:pukak
224:Yupik
220:Inuit
211:, of
205:Inuit
144:Whorf
140:Sapir
129:Inuit
125:Yupik
1132:ISBN
1101:ISBN
1056:ISBN
968:ISBN
943:ISBN
918:ISBN
858:névé
854:firn
733:ISBN
695:ISSN
614:qani
557:ISBN
465:and
443:apun
419:snow
370:and
341:qana
337:aput
222:and
188:snow
153:snow
151:for
134:The
127:and
107:are
48:lang
1188:by
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687:doi
634:".
618:apu
606:in
549:doi
473:or
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