Letf / Right, was Re: Count and mass nouns

In a message dated 1/19/2004 2:59:52 AM Eastern Standard Time,
herodote92@YAHOO.COM writes:

>By the way, I wonder if any natlang has markers for left / right distinction.
In _Explaining Language Universals_, John A. Hawkins says "Speakers regularly
have occasion to refer deitically to objects on their left as opposed to
their right side, and vice versa.  Yet deitic systems across languages are not
organized on this basis."

Now that I think of it, that is perhaps surprising.  Many deitic systems have
a near/far distinction, and left/right would not seem any less useful at
first glance.

Doug

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