Theiling Online    Sitemap    Conlang Mailing List HQ   

Front and back

From:Roger Mills <romilly@...>
Date:Tuesday, April 10, 2001, 3:28
Another interesting (serious) query from another list:

>I’m currently looking for data on the way languages talk about notions like
‘in front of’ and ‘behind’ (or ‘in back of’), and left/right. I have read that in some Nilotic languages trees are treated as having an intrinsic front and back. (The front is the side the tree leans away from.) I have also read that in some languages objects like nails and peanuts are treated as having intrinsic fronts and backs. (The pointed end of a nail and the smaller end of a peanut are the fronts.) Unfortunately I no longer have the relevant references. I’m keen to here about languages that assign front and back to objects that aren’t assigned them in English. Conversely, I’m keen to hear about languages that don’t assign front/back to objects that English does.> Have we thought about this? Frankly, I hadn't........:-)