Mankind Quarterly,
Vol. 44, No. 2 (Winter 2003)
pp. 125-154
Symbolization
and Conceptualization of Cardinal Directions in Central
Eurasia.
Penglin Wang
This paper is a comparative analysis
of the cognitive correlation between the direction
words and the direction symbols, involving Altaic,
Sino-Tibetan, and Indo-European in its etymological
explanations. In ancient mythology the scaly and shell-covered
animals such as turtle, toad, and snake served to
be a symbol for the north. This symbolization helped
early people in the region to conceptualize the northern
direction with the words for these animals. For example,
Uigur paka 'toad' corresponds to Chinese pak 'north',
and Chinese kui 'turtle' - Mongolian koina 'north'.
It is only when our understanding of the nature of
the direction symbols deepens, that their correlation
with the direction words will become known.
