The power of language

Daniel Everett first traveled to the Amazon with his wife and three young children as an evangelical Christian missionary in 1977. He settled among the Piraha, a small tribe of about 350 Amazonian Indians who have lived for generations deep in the Brazilian rain forests. His intent was to convert the natives to his faith, but as his new book illustrates, things do not always work out as planned.

To say that his experience was a clash of cultures is an understatement. For example, the Piraha people have no concept of personal ownership. Possessions simply belong to everyone. Their language also was an obstacle, in that it had no words for color or numbers and one of the smallest sets of speech sounds in the world. Despite these difficulties, Everett and his family attempted to become a part of the larger group.

One of the more interesting twists came when the Piraha people refused to accept his teachings of Christianity. They could not conceive of a man called Jesus, since no one they knew had ever met him. Their doubts eventually led Everett to question his faith, and within months he had redefined his very concept of Jesus and Christianity. The time he spent with the Piraha was enlightening as well as costly. He lost two family members to malaria, and his marriage dissolved. Nevertheless, he conformed to many of the beliefs of the native people due in no small part to their “life without absolutes.”

Everett, the chair of Languages, Literatures and Cultures at Illinois State University, blends the unforgettable stories of his experiences in the Amazon with insightful observations and the power that language has in all of our lives. This is a remarkable book that is certain to trigger questions about the importance of language and how it can define us as a people.