In Pormpuraaw
a remote Aboriginal community,
the indigenous languages
don't use terms like
"left" and "right."
Instead, everything
is talked about in terms of
north, south,
east, west.
You say things like
"There's an ant
on your southwest leg."
To say hello in Pormpuraaw,
one asks
"Where are you going?";
an appropriate response might be
"A long way to the south-south-west.
How about you?"
If you don't know
which way is which,
you literally can't get past
hello.
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