Spoken only by a single tribe in Brazil, the Pirahã language is unique in many, many ways. It doesn’t have any concept of time, so it’s physically impossible for speakers to construct a sentence referring to the past or the future.
While we might say something like “I promise I’ll do some work once I’ve finished reading this paragraph” the Pirahã would only be able to say, “I finish paragraph, I do work.” There’s no way of indicating whether you worked, are working, or are going to work; all communications are trapped firmly in the present moment.
According to linguist Daniel Everett, who lived with the Pirahã on and off for seven years, “all experience is anchored in the present.” Pirahã mothers don’t tell fairy tales, Pirahã men don’t boast about past achievements, and Pirahã children pretty much forget their grandparents as soon as they die. (Source)
WOW… just … wow.
