IMAGINE a world without words for colour, numbers or tales about imaginary beings. A tribe in a remote area of Brazil may live in just such a world, because their language lacks the words for such concepts and only allows people to talk about material things they have experienced directly.
Previous analysis of Pirahã, a language spoken by only 200 people in Amazonas, Brazil, suggested that it had some limited words for colours and at least the words for “one”, “two” and “many”. But further analysis by Daniel Everett at the University of Manchester, UK, reveals that these “words” are…
