The ‘Gavagai’ Problem: How We Map Words to Reality
Imagine a speaker in a new language points to a rabbit and says "gavagai." How do you know if it means "rabbit", "animal", or even "dinner"? This famous linguistic puzzle,…
Unlocking the Universe of Languages
Imagine a speaker in a new language points to a rabbit and says "gavagai." How do you know if it means "rabbit", "animal", or even "dinner"? This famous linguistic puzzle,…
Imagine trying to learn a language with no textbook, no translator, and no shared vocabulary. The monolingual fieldwork method is a raw, challenging process where linguists build a language from…