The fact that Piraha has no recursion, Everett contends, means that there is no universal grammar. What matters about language, Everett argues, is that it’s cultural. We may all have the natural cognitive skills to derive meaning from language, but what determines the shape of the language, its basic architecture, is the surrounding culture.
It is not, he maintains, an
accident that Piraha lacks recursion. Rather, it’s a cultural imperative derived from what Everett terms the “immediacy of experience principle.” Pirahas have little interest in that which they cannot directly verify, thus they communicate through a sequence of simple declarative assertions, negating the need for embedded clauses.
It’s a fascinating thesis. The one obvious drawback is that it suffers from its own immediacy-of-experience principle. Everett is the primary interpreter and translator of Piraha and as there are only a few hundred speakers left, it’s unlikely any linguist will ever possess sufficient knowledge to challenge his conclusions. Nevertheless, his conviction should give linguists pause for thought. There’s only so much that can be deduced from the comfort of an academic’s office.
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