*Eskimo Snow

How many words do the Eskimos have for snow?

Not as many as you think. Most people have read somewhere that the Eskimo language has hundreds, or even thousands, of words for snow. Fascinating, huh? Well, don’t believe everything you read on a cereal box.

According to people with more fancy degrees than me, it’s all a load of stinking crap.

If you decided to do some research of your own on the subject, you will find many websites that claim lists of Eskimo words for snow. However many of the words are misused or even made up. Here are two examples taken from Geoffrey Pullum's 1991 work The Great Eskimo Vocabulary Hoax, and Other Irreverent Essays on the Study of Language:

Igluksaq - reported as snow for igloo making. Comes from the iglu (house) and ksaq (material for). Thus it really just means building materials for a house.

Saumavaq - reported as covered in snow. This word is a verb meaning "it has been covered", and doesn't not necessarily imply snow.

So the next time you’re hovering around the cheese plate at party full of academics, you can go ahead and make some conversation. Because that’s more polite than a right hook to the solar plexus. Though not nearly as rewarding.

References

Martin, Laura. 1986 "Eskimo Words for Snow": A Case Study in the Genesis and Decay of an Anthropological Example. American Anthropologist 88(2):418-423

Pullum, Geoffery K. 1991 The Great Eskimo Vocabulary Hoax, and Other Irreverent Essays on the Study of Language, University of Chicago Press.

Posted by Paul! at February 25, 2005 11:21 AM

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