Research abstract

Pointing Out Directions in Murrinhpatha – A paper that examines how people speak about directions without specific direction vocabulary

Are we overly emphatic in the way we stress spoken word communication? This researcher claims that pointing and physical gestures are a fundamental aspect of language perhaps more pertinent than words themselves! By Superlinguo

Laura Lurns Last updated January 14, 2017 · 1 min read

In northern Australia a language called Murrinhpatha is spoken by around 2700 speakers. Murrinhpatha does not have directional words such as above, next to, left of, north, etc., though they do have distinct words to refer to their left and right hands as well as ahead and behind. Interestingly, speaking about specific locations (for example, by naming them) is often taboo in this community.

Instead of the wealth of direction terms you’d get in English, the team found that people used a number of strategies, including referring to specific landmarks where possible, demonstratives (similar to English, ‘there’ and ‘here’), and a whole lot of pointing.

Instead, Murrinhpatha speakers use strategies such as referring to landmarks, using their words for “there” and “here”, and a lot of pointing. Researchers believe that these strategies or the language may have to change, as currently these speakers mostly communicate face to face, but that will change as they use technology more in their community. In spite of their lack of directional words, Murrinhpatha speakers are able to navigate to locations, making researchers believe that the lack of words is merely a feature of the language and not a deficit of it.

Key takeaways

Researchers worked to identify how different cultures communicate directions.
The researchers found some key similarities that go deeper than language.
They say that pointing is a universal and fundamental element of communication.

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Laura Lurns · Learning Success expert Writes about the learning brain for parents who want plain answers. Every article is grounded in current neuroscience and classroom practice.

Instead of the wealth of direction terms you’d get in English, the team found that people used a number of strategies, including referring to specific landmarks where possible, demonstratives (similar to English, ‘there’ and ‘here’), and a whole lot of pointing.

Key takeaways

Is your child struggling in school?

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