There is a story about language that is often repeated. It claims that Eskimos, the native people in northern Canada, have a very large number of words for snow, where English only has one word. Northern Canada is quite cold and has a lot of snow. People in northern Canada must talk more often about snow than people in England. Some people who study language claim that our environment has a great influence on our languages and this example is proof. There are many problems with this claim.
The first problem is that when people repeat the story the number of Eskimo words for snow increases. Each story teller wants a more interesting story, so they try to make it more exciting. Unless you check an Eskimo-English translation dictionary the stories are not reliable.
What do the story tellers mean by Eskimo anyway? Most of the native people in northern Canada would not call themselves Eskimo. There are several different tribes in Canada's north.
The second problem is that there are more than one language used by the people from northern Canada. If we add up the number of words for rice in each Chinese dialect, Korean, Burmese, Thai, Hindi, and so on we could say that Asians have many words for rice. English may only have one word, but we are then comparing many languages with one.
The third problem is that the Eskimo–Aleut languages use a lot of suffixes and compound words. Huge numbers of words can be created using a single root word. This is like saying that English has many words for powder, baby powder, talcum powder, gunpowder, washing powder etc…
The fourth problem is the assumption that English has only one word for snow. Hong Kong English might, because here snow is just something seen in a story book. Ask a Canadian how many words they know for snow...
Actually there are many more words related to how the different types of weather form, the effects of glaciers and so on. Then there are words related to how to adapt to the weather, including special clothing and tools. Maybe the theory is correct; our environment does have a great influence on our languages. The original example may be flawed, but Canadian English has many words for snow. Hong Kong English does not.
by John Larrysson
A native English speaker who has been teaching practical English in Hong Kong for more than a decade.