Egocentric and Geocentric Coordinates
There are two types of systems used in languages to give directions, writes Guy Deutscher in Through the Language Glass . First , the one most of us know ( egocentric ), i.e., directions wrt the individual. Turn left . Half a kilometer ahead . All directions are from the perspective of the individual. It is easy to understand why this is so popular – you don’t need a map or a compass, it feels so intuitive. Except that, ( second ) many languages specify directions in geocentric terms. In those languages, directions are specified as north, south, east, and west, not left or right! Which languages are these? Many native languages of Australia, South East Asia, Mexico, Nepal and Madagascar. “We have simply mistaken the familiar for the natural.” The obvious feeling would be that geocentric terms can only work for groups that stay in small areas all their life. When they tested this hypothesis by driving some natives far from their native areas, places they had ne...