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176 reviews for:
Das glücklichste Volk: sieben Jahre bei den Pirahã-Indianern am Amazonas
Daniel L. Everett
3.81 AVERAGE
176 reviews for:
Das glücklichste Volk: sieben Jahre bei den Pirahã-Indianern am Amazonas
Daniel L. Everett
3.81 AVERAGE
Guess I am not the only one who noticed the incongruity of a one-sentence gang rape in a description of the happiest people on earth. Most of the intragroup violence seems to leave women worse off, whether rape, infanticide, or negligent manslaughter, however egalitarian their adultery. But Everett's was a rare experience and this is a truly fascinating book in every way.
adventurous
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
A fascinating story of a missionary who became a language scholar. He learned one of the most difficult languages in the world, and certainly the most bizarre one: the language of the Piraha tribe in the Amazonian. Reading this book is an adventure in itself. One of my favourites. It makes you think about the human civilization, compared to the life of this tribe that has almost no civilization (a very rudimentary language, no rituals, no law, no money, etc.) but is happy.
adventurous
informative
reflective
medium-paced
He's a bit dry but also the information is very interesting. Thoroughly academic at times, but he keeps it balanced.
I wanted to like this book more, but it seemed unsure of its raison d’etre. Was this book meant to be an autobiography or a critique of Noam Chomsky’s linguistic theories? For having spent half of one’s life among the Piraha, there are relatively few anecdotes within the book to share with his audience. SPOILER: I would further hazard to guess that leaving one’s faith would be a significant process, so I was rather disappointed to find that his book only tacks this story on towards the end. Furthermore, he dances around the consequences of leaving his faith without actually discussing the fallout around it. I would’ve liked to learn more about the Piraha and the author and his experiences more than detailed linguistic theories.
challenging
informative
slow-paced
adventurous
informative
slow-paced
I may recommend this to those interested in understanding rare jungle cultures and anyone who is interested in understanding the analysis of human language and grammar.
This is the second time I have read this book, the first being in 2015 probably when my interest in books was just starting out. This book is really all over the place. Everett has a unique experience with the rare and mostly unaltered society of the Piraha tribe deep in the Amazon. Everett goes to live with the Piraha as a young Christian missionary. His goal as a young passionate linguistic is to learn their strange and complex language so that he may translate the Christian Bible into their language and convert them to his faith.
The Piraha language is incredibly unique and complex. It takes him many years to gain a proper footing in the language and in the first part of the book he details his adventures and struggles. Yet this is disjointed and hard to follow, with there being very little structure. I did end up having a hard time with some of his explanations because they are very Daniel Everett centred. Undoubtedly that sacrifice this man and his family made to better understand this small tribe is monumental, but I did not pick up this book to learn more about Everett, I want to learn about the Piraha.
The book loses what little momentum it had going in part 2 of the book where he details how his theories on linguistics are correct and how Nom Chomsky’s are wrong. I am not a linguist. I am not interested in the discussion of the origins of grammar and if genetics allow for sentences to rest inside of other sentences. The language analysis part of the book that took up a good chunk of his work, felt hugely out of place for me. It seemed like work that should have been placed in a journal, not besides stories of him bartering with traders and fighting off large insects in the night. The reader is thrown into the deep end about theories on linguistics that has almost no influence on my understanding of the Piraha. I often would read this section before bed as a sleep aid.
It is too bad that Everett’s attempts at writing fall flat at times because the Piraha culture, it is absolutely fascinating. This group of people has no numbers. They have no creation myths. They have no colours. They lack many aspects of what we consideration foundational grammar. Their hunting skills are supreme. Their views upon death are heartless to us. There is occasional murder, often fueled by alcohol provided by traders. They laugh when their huts are destroyed in storms. They literally see spirits in front of Daniel where his family sees none. They laugh often. They are chatty. The like to play pranks, swim, fish, and eat. They have very basic family structures, inclusive of only parents and siblings. The men are 5' 2" and 110 lbs on average. They live day to day and rarely ever plan for the future. Yet the Piraha are supremely happy. Everett comes to envy them, their outlook, and way of life. He learns to love them to such a degree he eventually abandons his own faith. This was an interesting part of his story, but it is very quickly glossed over at the end.
Everett is not a skilled writer and often situates himself as the main character of stories I don’t believe need him in. He uses this book as an opportunity to defend his academic discoveries on language and grammar, which feels overly defensive and very out of place. This could have been an outstanding book. Daniel Everett however has spent a lifetime understanding a unique culture and I am very grateful for his efforts and his willingness to share his journey with us.
This is the second time I have read this book, the first being in 2015 probably when my interest in books was just starting out. This book is really all over the place. Everett has a unique experience with the rare and mostly unaltered society of the Piraha tribe deep in the Amazon. Everett goes to live with the Piraha as a young Christian missionary. His goal as a young passionate linguistic is to learn their strange and complex language so that he may translate the Christian Bible into their language and convert them to his faith.
The Piraha language is incredibly unique and complex. It takes him many years to gain a proper footing in the language and in the first part of the book he details his adventures and struggles. Yet this is disjointed and hard to follow, with there being very little structure. I did end up having a hard time with some of his explanations because they are very Daniel Everett centred. Undoubtedly that sacrifice this man and his family made to better understand this small tribe is monumental, but I did not pick up this book to learn more about Everett, I want to learn about the Piraha.
The book loses what little momentum it had going in part 2 of the book where he details how his theories on linguistics are correct and how Nom Chomsky’s are wrong. I am not a linguist. I am not interested in the discussion of the origins of grammar and if genetics allow for sentences to rest inside of other sentences. The language analysis part of the book that took up a good chunk of his work, felt hugely out of place for me. It seemed like work that should have been placed in a journal, not besides stories of him bartering with traders and fighting off large insects in the night. The reader is thrown into the deep end about theories on linguistics that has almost no influence on my understanding of the Piraha. I often would read this section before bed as a sleep aid.
It is too bad that Everett’s attempts at writing fall flat at times because the Piraha culture, it is absolutely fascinating. This group of people has no numbers. They have no creation myths. They have no colours. They lack many aspects of what we consideration foundational grammar. Their hunting skills are supreme. Their views upon death are heartless to us. There is occasional murder, often fueled by alcohol provided by traders. They laugh when their huts are destroyed in storms. They literally see spirits in front of Daniel where his family sees none. They laugh often. They are chatty. The like to play pranks, swim, fish, and eat. They have very basic family structures, inclusive of only parents and siblings. The men are 5' 2" and 110 lbs on average. They live day to day and rarely ever plan for the future. Yet the Piraha are supremely happy. Everett comes to envy them, their outlook, and way of life. He learns to love them to such a degree he eventually abandons his own faith. This was an interesting part of his story, but it is very quickly glossed over at the end.
Everett is not a skilled writer and often situates himself as the main character of stories I don’t believe need him in. He uses this book as an opportunity to defend his academic discoveries on language and grammar, which feels overly defensive and very out of place. This could have been an outstanding book. Daniel Everett however has spent a lifetime understanding a unique culture and I am very grateful for his efforts and his willingness to share his journey with us.
This is a book written by a man who spent most of his adult life (along with his family) amongst the Piraha of Brazil, and isolated people who have not integrated into modern society (and are in fact now protected by the Brazilian government). Mr. Everett did what many first-contact missionaries do, which is to attempt to learn the language for later proselytizing and for translation of the Bible.
The book contains a mix of colorful stories told plainly, with less embellishment that you see in some other anthropological accounts, combined with his study of their language.
[NERD:] Mr. Everett's work has led him to disagree with some of Noam Chompsky's work on human language and grammar. This book is somewhat recent, and may have been peer-reviewed, but the points he raise are interesting. This is a read for people with an interest in linguistic anthropology and language as a human construct.[/NERD:]
Overall it is an interesting read, but can be a bit dry at time. It's no "Heart of Darkness." If you have enjoyed some of the other anthropological reads I've reviewed here, you will enjoy this one.
The book contains a mix of colorful stories told plainly, with less embellishment that you see in some other anthropological accounts, combined with his study of their language.
[NERD:] Mr. Everett's work has led him to disagree with some of Noam Chompsky's work on human language and grammar. This book is somewhat recent, and may have been peer-reviewed, but the points he raise are interesting. This is a read for people with an interest in linguistic anthropology and language as a human construct.[/NERD:]
Overall it is an interesting read, but can be a bit dry at time. It's no "Heart of Darkness." If you have enjoyed some of the other anthropological reads I've reviewed here, you will enjoy this one.
There are swaths of this book that deal with theories in linguistics and anthropology which are in the middle of an intellectual fight the author has with Chomsky and others. Those parts are easy to identify. The rest of it is what you’re promised - the story of the author’s time with an Amazonian people somewhat isolated from modern society. You get his reflections and then a short and somewhat unsatisfying chapter on his loss of faith in God and truth based in part on his understandings learned while among these people.