DSK wrote:
Reginald P. Smithers III wrote:
http://www.derose.net/steve/guides/snowwords/

So how many already?
Pullum cites several sources on how many words certain Inuit dialects
actually have for snow. The two main ones a

The Dictionary of the West Greenlandic Eskimo Language (C. W.
Schultz-Lorentzen, Copenhagan: Reitzels, 1927) gives just two words:
qanik for snowflakes in the air, and aput for snow on the ground.


We don't even have that, considering that "snowflakes" is just "snow
flakes" pretending to be a single word. English being such a flexible
language, we could even make it three words "flakes of snow." 3 + 2 plus
your suggested two makes 7 words for snow! The problem is that there is
really only one word: "snow" the rest is just creative accounting.



As Pullum again points out, anyone concerned about a particular
subject has a proportionately detailed vocabulary for it.

Sure, that's elementary. For example, there are huge numbers of odd &
wonderful words for all the different parts of a boat.

Any specialized field of knowledge has it's vocabulary, medicine,
computers, etc etc. To know the field one must master the vocabulary.


... There is little surprising or interesting about this,


Surprising? Not to smart people, agreed.
Interesting? I guess that all depends.

.... it doesn't seem to have much affect on communication, realism, or
anything else

Horse puckey. Try discussing a medical issue with a doctor: 2/3 of the
conversation will be him explaining what the words mean. Yet to another
medical professional, the communication is efficient and accurate.



.... beyond signalling that you are (or aren't) an expert on a precise
topic:


Yep.
Tell me again, how is it that we spot the BS'ers and fakers and
wanna-bees in this newsgroup?




So if some language(s) did have many words for snow, it should be no
more interesting than these other everyday cases. But if you think
about it, people who live in ever-snowful lands may perhaps care no
more about fine variations of snow, than we in warmer climes care
about fine variations of grass or pavement: anything so constant
disappears into the background and becomes less interesting.

I disagree. We don't make a living from pavement or grass, and they vary
considerably less than snow. The Eskimos have a very good reason for
their vocabulary, just as your doctor has a good reason for his.

Actually there are two reasons, but we don't need to go into the second
one just now.

Regards
Doug King

So how many different words do the Eskimos have for snow?