任何对皮拉罕人（Pirahã）感兴趣的人都该读读 Daniel Everett 写的《Don't Sleep, There Are Snakes: Life and Language in the Amazonian Jungle》( http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Sleep-There-Are-Snakes/dp/0307386... )。书里有相当一部分关于语言的内容，但更抓人的是背景故事：Daniel 作为一名传教士前往那里，试图去感化一群根本不需要宗教的快乐族群，结果自己反而失去了信仰（连家庭也散了）…
Anyone interested in the Pirahã should read 'Don't Sleep, There Are Snakes: Life and Language in the Amazonian Jungle' by Daniel Everett ( http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Sleep-There-Are-Snakes/dp/0307386... ) There's quite a bit about the language, but the backstory of Daniel going over as a missionary and losing his faith (and family) while trying to convert a happy people in no need of religion…
A great book to read in this context: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dont-Sleep-There-are-Snakes/dp/18466... or indeed, any context. It's a fabulous book about the good and bad in societies untouched by civilization, and about one man's attempts to understand a language with no reference points.…
在现代，一方水土造就不同的人群，这又不是头一遭了。亚马逊的 Pirahã 人曾用酒精弄死过一个生病的婴儿。为什么？还是让 Daniel Everett 来解释吧……http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Sleep-There-Are-Snakes/dp/0307386...
Wouldn't be the first time a different land made a different people in modern times. The Pirahã in the Amazon killed a sick infant with alcohol. Why? I'd let Daniel Everett explain... http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Sleep-There-Are-Snakes/dp/0307386...
…study of language is very important, and the differences that exist should be recorded for scientific study. Maybe it even makes sense to preserve the real outlying communities (http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Sleep-There-Are-Snakes/dp/0307386...) by forcibly cutting them off from the global economy. But major languages (English, Spanish, Portuguese) are redundant standards that should be consolidated ASAP.
任何对皮拉罕人（Pirahã）感兴趣的人都该读读 Daniel Everett 写的《Don't Sleep, There Are Snakes: Life and Language in the Amazonian Jungle》( http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Sleep-There-Are-Snakes/dp/0307386... )。书里有相当一部分关于语言的内容，但更抓人的是背景故事：Daniel 作为一名传教士前往那里，试图去感化一群根本不需要宗教的快乐族群，结果自己反而失去了信仰（连家庭也散了）…
Anyone interested in the Pirahã should read 'Don't Sleep, There Are Snakes: Life and Language in the Amazonian Jungle' by Daniel Everett ( http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Sleep-There-Are-Snakes/dp/0307386... ) There's quite a bit about the language, but the backstory of Daniel going over as a missionary and losing his faith (and family) while trying to convert a happy people in no need of religion…
在这种语境下特别值得一读的好书：http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dont-Sleep-There-are-Snakes/dp/18466... 其实放在任何语境下都合适。这是一本极棒的书，讲的是未被文明浸染的社会的好与坏，以及一个人如何尝试去理解一种没有任何参照物的未知语言。…
A great book to read in this context: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dont-Sleep-There-are-Snakes/dp/18466... or indeed, any context. It's a fabulous book about the good and bad in societies untouched by civilization, and about one man's attempts to understand a language with no reference points.…
在现代，一方水土造就不同的人群，这又不是头一遭了。亚马逊的 Pirahã 人曾用酒精弄死过一个生病的婴儿。为什么？还是让 Daniel Everett 来解释吧……http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Sleep-There-Are-Snakes/dp/0307386...
Wouldn't be the first time a different land made a different people in modern times. The Pirahã in the Amazon killed a sick infant with alcohol. Why? I'd let Daniel Everett explain... http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Sleep-There-Are-Snakes/dp/0307386...
…语言研究至关重要，现存的语言差异理应记录下来用于科学研究。甚至强行让那些真正与世隔绝的边缘社区（http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Sleep-There-Are-Snakes/dp/0307386...）与全球经济脱钩以保护它们，都是说得通的。但主流语言（英语、西班牙语、葡萄牙语）完全属于冗余的标准，应该尽快合并。
…study of language is very important, and the differences that exist should be recorded for scientific study. Maybe it even makes sense to preserve the real outlying communities (http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Sleep-There-Are-Snakes/dp/0307386...) by forcibly cutting them off from the global economy. But major languages (English, Spanish, Portuguese) are redundant standards that should be consolidated ASAP.