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Why Some Languages Have More Words for Snow

「エスキモーには雪の単語が100個ある」という都市伝説を入り口に言語学の旅。

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Most people have heard the claim that Eskimos have a hundred words for snow. The number changes — sometimes it's fifty, sometimes four hundred — but the claim itself is everywhere. It is also, depending on how you count, either an exaggeration or a misunderstanding. Linguists who actually study Inuit and Yupik languages point out two things. First, these languages are polysynthetic, which means a single word can carry the meaning of an entire English sentence. So while there may indeed be many "words" for different kinds of snow, each of them is essentially a packed phrase like "snow-good-for-igloos" or "snow-falling-now-in-clumps." Second, English itself has plenty of snow vocabulary once you start counting compound words and specialized terms: powder, slush, sleet, blizzard, drift, flurry, dusting. Skiers and meteorologists casually use dozens. The deeper question, then, is not whether one language has more words, but whether speakers of different languages perceive snow differently. The evidence here is mixed but interesting. Some studies suggest that having a precise word makes you slightly faster to recognize a corresponding category — but the effect is small, and people without the word can still see the distinction perfectly well. Language shapes attention, perhaps, more than it shapes thought.

重要表現と解説

この記事で押さえたい表現。タップで単語帳に追加でき、復習時に出てきます。

  • Most people have heard the claim that ...文法

    ほとんどの人が〜という主張を聞いたことがある

    〈the claim that ...〉= 同格の that 節。claim を後ろの節で説明する。

  • depending on how you count表現

    数え方次第で

    〈depending on + 名詞句/wh-節〉= 『〜次第で』、文修飾。

  • polysynthetic, which means a single word can carry文法

    多総合的、つまり一つの単語が運べる

    非制限的関係詞 which が前の語を受けて定義を補足。〈, which means ...〉は専門用語の説明テンプレ。

  • So while there may indeed be many "words" for different kinds of snow文法

    だから確かに、さまざまな種類の雪を表す『単語』が多数あるかもしれないが

    〈may + indeed + 動詞〉= 『確かに〜かもしれない』、譲歩を強調する助動詞句。

  • each of them is essentially a packed phrase文法

    それぞれが実質的に圧縮されたフレーズだ

    〈each of them〉= 単数扱い (動詞 is)。〈essentially〉= 『本質的に、要するに』、論述副詞。

  • English itself has plenty of snow vocabulary文法

    英語自体も雪の語彙が豊富にある

    〈X itself〉= 『X 自体』、再帰代名詞による強調。

  • powder, slush, sleet, blizzard, drift, flurry, dusting語彙

    粉雪、シャーベット雪、みぞれ、吹雪、吹き溜まり、にわか雪、薄積雪

    雪の専門語彙のリスト。並列を読点 (コンマ) でつなぐエッセイの典型。

  • The deeper question, then, is not whether ... but whether ...文法

    より深い問いは、〜かどうかではなく、〜かどうかだ

    〈not A but B〉= 『A ではなく B』、強い対比。〈whether〉= 『〜かどうか』を取る間接疑問。

  • having a precise word makes you slightly faster to recognize文法

    正確な単語があると認識がわずかに速くなる

    動名詞主語 + make + O + 形容詞。〈having〉が主語、〈makes〉が動詞。

  • people without the word can still see the distinction perfectly well文法

    その単語を持たない人でも区別自体は完全に見分けられる

    〈still〉= 『それでも、なお』、譲歩の副詞。〈perfectly well〉= 『完全に問題なく』、強調の二重副詞。

  • Language shapes attention, perhaps, more than it shapes thought.文法

    言語は思考を形作るというより、注意を形作るのかもしれない。

    〈A more than B〉= 『B というより A』、比較構文の柔軟形。〈perhaps〉= 文修飾の婉曲副詞。

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