The other day someone was mentioning “heat
wave”, but when something is becoming too normal -it is no longer episodic, will you still refer to it as “wave”.
This brings in the issue of want of appropriate words to define fast changing scenario presented
by climate breakdown. Climate catastrophe needs new vocabulary to exact and
express. Our words are stuck in the meanings derived from the era of nurturing
and predictable climate. We can learn from indigenous people who are much
closer to nature and are able to work the nuance of nature as it presents. For instance,
Inuit people who live in arctic where snow and ice play a significant role have
many ways to define ice. Siku a general term for ice in Inuktitut. It can refer
to sea ice, freshwater ice, or any form of ice. Pukak is used to describe thin
ice or the thin crust that forms on the surface of water. Nilak refers to sea
ice that is safe to walk on. It is solid and thick enough to support a person's
weight. Aput refers to snow and ice together, encompassing the frozen landscape
as a whole. Taqulik is used for the ice that forms around the edges of water,
such as the shoreline of a lake or the sea ice near the coast. Tuttu is used to
describe large, heavy ice floes, especially those found in the open ocean. Hopi tribe for instance have a specific word for very hot day -Tavaqkwv. Like in English
rain is aptly communicated with words like drizzle, deluge so on. But when we
have more than what is so far experienced as deluge -like cloud burst or more
intense downpour, then we need new words to communicate. Words have evolved with
time hence were able to specifically communicate the needs of slow changing world. When the world is changing fast it needs new vocabulary to define the unprecedented that is becoming normal.
