Den 4. apr. 2008 kl. 08.48 skreiv JR:
> There's a chapter by Edward Louis Keenan and Elinor Ochs in
> _Languages and Their Speakers_ called "Becoming a Competent Speaker
> Of Malagasy," where they describe their experiences in a rural
> community in Madagascar. One thing they note is the use of the
> cardinal directions ("north", "south", etc.) instead of "left" and
> "right". I don't know if there are no words for the latter at all,
> but they write that the concepts are not available to the speakers,
> "at least without reflection." They tie this in with the strong
> cultural tendency to keep attention away from individuals. Saying
> that something is "to the north" instead of "to my right" achieves
> this.
Interesting. So apparently they think of people as normally facing
towards the west. And maybe the idea of a "southpaw" in boxing is
ultimately borrowed from Madagascar. Why not? Stranger things have
happened.
LEF