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Pirahã language with no numbers and no colour names

2025-02-22
The Pirahã Ianguage, spoken by the I Pirahã people of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil, is unique in that it has no words for specific numbers. Instead of numerical terms, they use relative quantity words like `hói`(a small amount ) and `baágiso`(a larger amount). Studies suggest that Pirahã speakers rely on estimation rather than precise counting, reflecting their cultural focus on immediate experience rather than abstract concepts like mathematics.

They also don`t have names for colours in the way many other languages do. Instead of distinct colour names, Pirahã speakers describe colours using comparisons and descriptive phrases. For example, they might say something is `like blood` for red or `like the sky` for blue.