Besides giving English the word "kangaroo", the Australian Aboriginal language Guugu Yimithirr is famous for using cardinal direction instead of relative direction. This means that Guugu Yimithirr speakers have to give directions in terms of "north, south, east, and west" instead of "left and right". This is sometimes used to support a version of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis.
What would happen if this were the way most languages worked? Would it lead to more accurate or earlier oceanic navigation?
Please correct me if I came to the wrong interpretation of this language. I have no formal training in linguistics, and I may have misunderstood.
See Haviland, John B. (1998) "Guugu Yimithirr Cardinal Directions" Ethos 26 (1) 25-47. (i.e. the Wikipedia article's source on the topic)
What would happen if this were the way most languages worked? Would it lead to more accurate or earlier oceanic navigation?
Please correct me if I came to the wrong interpretation of this language. I have no formal training in linguistics, and I may have misunderstood.
See Haviland, John B. (1998) "Guugu Yimithirr Cardinal Directions" Ethos 26 (1) 25-47. (i.e. the Wikipedia article's source on the topic)