In 2005 I wrote a post called: In NY There Must be 40 Words for Depression. This was originally posted on January 25th, 2005:
for Depression" was a reference to a popular urban myth that people
love to bandy about: the number of words in the Eskimo language for
snow.
Well, it turns out that there aren't 40 words for snow in Eskimo.
That little fictitious factoid was introduced in 1911 by anthropologist
Franz Boas. According to a web site called everything2.org: "Boas
references to the snow words were used as evidence of a link between
language categories and thought."
Even if there are not 40 words, there are still a good many words for snow in Eskimo (Inuit to be exact). And here they are:
* 'ice' sikko
* 'bare ice' tingenek
* 'snow (in general)' aput
* 'snow (like salt)' pukak
* 'soft deep snow' mauja
* 'snowdrift' tipvigut
* 'soft snow' massak
* 'watery snow' mangokpok
* 'snow filled with water' massalerauvok
* 'soft snow' akkilokipok
Smartmom still thinks that there are probably 40 words for depression in New York City.