Don't sleep, there are snakes: life and language in the Amazonian jungle book cover

Don't sleep, there are snakes Summary

life and language in the Amazonian jungle

Daniel Everett
3.96(5948 Reviews)

Key Themes in the Don't sleep, there are snakes Summary

  • linguistic relativity
  • universal grammar critique
  • missionary deconversion
  • pirahã culture
  • amazonian ethnography

Best Quotes from the Don't sleep, there are snakes Summary

  • My mission was clear-as an evangelical missionary, I was sent to "change their hearts" and persuade them to worship my god.

  • Gratitude and penitence were expressed through actions rather than words.

  • The river defines Piraha life so completely that this book could have been called "The Water People."

  • You don't know how to carry this.

Characters in the Don't sleep, there are snakes Summary

  • Daniel EverettAuthor, missionary, and linguistic anthropologist
  • KoxoiThe author's first Piraha language teacher
  • KohoibiiihiaiA respected Piraha leader and hunter

About the Author

About the Author of Don't sleep, there are snakes

Daniel Leonard Everett, linguist, anthropologist, and bestselling author of Don’t Sleep, There Are Snakes, is renowned for his groundbreaking work on the Pirahã people of the Amazon. A former missionary turned academic, Everett blends memoir, cultural anthropology, and linguistic analysis in this genre-defying exploration of language, cognition, and human connection. His decades-long fieldwork with the Pirahã challenged foundational linguistic theories, sparking global debates about the nature of language and universal grammar.

Everett’s expertise spans cognitive sciences and linguistic anthropology, shaped by his roles as Dean of Arts and Sciences at Bentley University and professor at institutions like the University of Manchester and University of Pittsburgh. His other influential works, including Language: The Cultural Tool and How Language Began, further examine language as a cultural invention.

Translated into over 20 languages, Don’t Sleep, There Are Snakes has sold millions of copies worldwide, cementing Everett’s status as a provocative voice in interdisciplinary research. His insights continue to redefine humanity’s understanding of communication and culture.

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