Don't Sleep, There Are Snakes

September 29, 2008
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Reviewed by
Christine Kenneally
The ways language and thought intertwine have long intrigued scientists. Does language shape the way we see the world? Does the world influence the structure of language? Do we think in
words? Such lofty questions pondered in many an ivory tower would go unanswered without the mostly anonymous work of field linguists. These scholars venture into isolated communities and wrestle with culture shock, broken tape recorders and dysentery—all to learn an unfamiliar language from the ground up. Their work is painstaking, and no matter how smart or how educated they are, their projects must begin with the most elementary communicative tactics—they point at a rock or a tree or a bird, and whether they are in Australia's Western Desert, the remote islands of Indonesia or the jungles of Brazil, their interlocutor will respond, “rock” or “tree” or “bird” in the native tongue.
Dan Everett's life as a field linguist began when he entered a Pirahã village in the Amazonian jungle in December 1977. After being greeted by a happy, chattering crowd, he walked over to a man cooking on a small fire. First, he tapped his own chest and said, “Daniel,” then he pointed at the animal being cooked on the fire. “Káixihí,” said the man. Everett pointed at a stick. “Xií” said the man. Everett dropped the stick and said, “I drop the xii.” “Xií xi bigí kíobíi,” his new friend replied, meaning “stick it ground falls.” Thus began 30 years of dedication to the Pirahã and their native tongue, a mystifying system of sound and rules unrelated to any other language in the world.
In this fascinating and candid account of life with the Pirahã, Everett describes how he learned to speak fluent Pirahã (pausing occasionally to club the snakes that harassed him in his Amazonian “office”). He also explains his discoveries about the language—findings that have kicked off more than one academic brouhaha. Everett learned that Pirahã does not use what are supposed to be universal aspects of grammar, an observation that runs counter to linguistic dogma about how culture, the brain and language connect. For Everett, Pirahã is evidence that culture plays a crucial and previously unacknowledged role in the creation of language.
Everett's life with the Pirahã cost him dearly. He almost lost two family members to malaria, and his first marriage broke down after years of highly productive shared field work. But life in the Amazon taught him a great deal about human nature, too, perhaps more about his own than that of the Pirahã. Everett began his linguistic work as a Christian missionary, but the Pirahã were marvelously impervious to his promise of a life with Jesus. They pointed out that Everett simply had no proof for the supernatural world he described, and in the end he found himself agreeing with them. He left the church, choosing a world that more honestly integrated his goals as a scholar with the world view of his Pirahã friends—one where evidence matters. (Nov. 11)

Christine Kenneally is the author of
The First Word: The Search for the Origins of Language, a finalist for the L.A. Times Book Prize.

Starred review from November 1, 2008
Everett (languages, literatures, & cultures, Illinois State Univ.) has crafted a fascinating account of his 30 years of linguistics work among the Pirahã (pronounced pee-da-HAN) Indians, a tribal group living along the Maici and Marmelos Rivers in a remote area of western Brazil. Everett and his family first lived among the Pirahã in 1977 as Christian missionaries. Although he had prepared for language learning through missionary field training, Everett's real interest in linguistic theories blossomed during his graduate study at Brazil's State University of Campinas. During his years among the Pirahã, Everett has undertaken serious linguistic study and has discovered many interesting and unique aspects of the Pirahã language, which is unrelated to any other. The language has a paucity of vowels (three) and consonants (eight), but it has a complex system of varying tones and stresses. It lacks numbers or any type of counting system and also lacks specific terms for colors. Everett's findings about the language have led him to challenge some of the most widely accepted theories put forth by renowned linguists Noam Chomsky and Stephen Pinker. With a clear, detail-rich writing style, Everett provides evocative ethnographic descriptions of Pirahã life and culture as well as perceptive linguistic analysis. Throughout, he emphasizes the interconnectedness of language and culture and the importance of studying both together if one wants to understand either. This excellent study is highly recommended for linguistics and anthropology collections in academic and large public libraries [See Prepub Alert, "LJ" 8/08.]Elizabeth Salt, Otterbein Coll. Lib., Westerville, OH

Copyright 2008 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2008
In 1977, Everett, a Christian missionary, took his young family to live with Brazils remote Pirah (pee-da-HAN) tribe, intending to learn their language and translate the Bible into it. Pirah, however, was a little-understood linguistic anomaly that was difficult to masterconfusingly, Everett could find no equivalent for many seemingly universal concepts. After more than 30 years of study, he found himself increasingly fascinated by the Pirahs unique worldview. Unable to convert them, he instead began questioning his own religious faith. The earlier chapters combine the urgency of adventure with the pleasure of intellectual discovery. Everetts own language is straightforward, and his examination of the complex relationship between the way we talk and the way we live is easy to follow. Later chapters on linguistics may be too specialized for general readers. And, unfortunately, Everett waits until the very end to write about his own apostasy. Yes, we can see it comingand we can appreciate his urge to not preachbut, as he has just spent the book showing us, belief and speech must be considered together. Somewhat uneven, but still unforgettable.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)