Sapir-Whorf Refuted
I have heard claims that there was no word for “blue” in
Ancient Greek. This raises the question, following the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis,
if the Greeks actually experienced the color blue, under that azure
Mediterranean sky.
There
are many vivid experiences lacking words. Consider your stomach; when there is
food in it, you are “full”; when there is no food in it, you are “hungry”.
These are fine and short words. Now consider your bladder and your colon. When
these are full, you are what? When they are empty, you are what? These feelings
are vivid, intimate, urgent and felt by all, but I know no words for them!
My
urologist says that the condition of having a full colon is called “tenemus”.
That’s a noun, but he doesn’t know a corresponding adjective. Also it refers to
the condition, not the feeling.
I
propose the following; bladderful,
bladdervoid, colonful, colonvoid. Those are the ‘polite’ and abstract
words; their ‘rude’ and earthy synonyms are pissful, pissless, shitful, shitless. This 2x2x2 word-cube
possesses both mathematical regularity and poetic musicality; I offer it to you
for free. Use it in good health.
These
words did not exist before now; yet they denote universal experiences. Thus I
refute the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis.
Comments:
LF:
Anyone
who heard or read [these words] would know instantly what you meant, and would
likely also consider them vulgar, possibly rude, if not obscene.
NH:
Good!
Then they’re doing their job!
I
hope the bladder- and colon- versions will find polite acceptance; but the
piss- and shit- versions come more trippingly off the tongue.
Shitful
does indeed function as a rude insult; full of shit. So does pissful; full of
piss, and vinegar. But then are pissless and shitless compliments? No shit!
This
all makes me thoughtful; but now that I’ve told you, I feel thoughtless!
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