The many kinds of Love

The Inuit have more than a hunderd words for snow. That is the misconception at any rate. Firstly there are many 'Eskimo' or ' Eskimo-Aleut' languages, not one. Secondly, they have an equal number of snow related concepts as people of other northern hemisphere languages do. Because Eskimo languages are polysynthetic, they describe concepts in compound terms or 'words' of unlimited length. So it may seem like they have more ideas about snow, but it is misleading. The reason anybody points out that Eskimos have many words for snow is to highlight differences between their view of the world and those of other cultures. It is also used to point out our limitations when it comes to language.

Take this one for example. English, or rather the Common Tongue of the western world (that may in fact be misleading in itself as many Spanish speakers will attest), is a rather limited language to express oneself in. There really arent that many satisfactory swear words, or curses. There are few examples of how to discribe hunger and there is only one word for love.

Do we love everybody we know in the same way? Hardly. So how do you go about expressing it? Language is perhaps not the best method of expressing such a feeling anyway, but our society would frown upon those who would greet their friends with a rough embrace every time they met!

When your only method of remaining in touch with certain people is through phone calls, text messages and the internet, language becomes the only tool with which you can work. And it can lead to misunderstandings. It can be easy to read too much into particular words and phrazes, or too little.

So, tread carefully, for you only have one heart to break ...