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Chinese dimensionality

From:Andreas Johansson <andjo@...>
Date:Wednesday, July 6, 2005, 17:18
I've become involved in a discussion with a strong Sapir-Whorfian, who is making
some rather outlandish claims. The one that really sends the ol' brain reeling
is this; Chinese languages treat spacetime as five-dimensional, and Chinese
speakers therefore perceive their world as five-dimensional. Apparently, four
spatial and one temporal dimension are implied, but he's not exactly expressing
himself with perfect clarity.

That his claim, as stated, is wrong seems clear, but I was wondering if any of
our   Chinese speakers here can think of any feature of Sinitic grammar or
vocabulary that might, thru exaggeration or misunderstanding, give rise to such
a claim.

                                                Andreas

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tomhchappell <tomhchappell@...>