Does English Strip the Soul From Its Trees?

InPotawatami, a language spoken by Indigenous tribes in the Midwest, <a href="https://orionmagazine.org/article/speaking-of-nature/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">nouns act like verbs</a> and they both come in animate and inanimate forms. The Potawatomi wouldn’t say “It is a lake.” They would say “She is being a lake.” In Yucatec, the Indigenous language of the Yucatec Maya in Belize, speakers would use the word “yok’ol-kab” to refer to the world. But the literal translation of the word is “over honey,” <a href="https://www.ifad.org/en/web/latest/-/5-indigenous-words-about-the-environment-that-don-t-exist-in-english?fromhp=" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">reflecting their belief</a> that the natural world is a source of nourishment and wellbeing. In Cordillera, Philippines, the Kankanaey people <a href="https://www.ifad.org/en/web/latest/-/5-indigenous-words-about-the-environment-that-don-t-exist-in-english?fromhp=" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">have a word</a> for the unethical deed of causing harm to anyone or anything in the natural world: “inayan.” Because they believe in the interconnectedness of humans and nature, to disrespect or harm a living or nonliving thing is an affront to their very culture. <a href="https://medium.com/the-new-climate/does-english-strip-the-soul-from-its-trees-6bd3edd8af54">Visit Now</a>