Snownyms
How many words are there for ‘snow’ in different languages? The Inuit people of Alaska have 70, while the Saami of northern Scandinavia and Russia have 180. Surprisingly, Scotland takes the prize with 421 words for snow, including ‘feefle’ (swirling snow), ‘flindrikin’ (a brief snow shower) and ‘spitters’ (small flakes of wind-driven snow). I celebrate these words as a tribute to nature’s incredible diversity, with all its shapes and moods, its colours and rhythms. Personally, I’m drawn to warmer parts of the globe, especially the tropics. I’m enticed knowing that the Hawaiians, for example, have 20 words for ‘rainbow’.
— Wayne Visser
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From Purpose Inspired: Reflections on Conscious Living, Volume 5. Buy on Lulu ↗