The Grammar of Happiness (2012)
• January 25th, 2012 • 0h 52min
Documentary
Overview
The Grammar Of Happiness follows the story of Daniel Everett among the extraordinary 'nonconvertible' Amazonian Pirah tribe, a group of indigenous hunter- gatherers whose culture and outlook on life has taken the world of linguistics by storm. As a young ambitious missionary three decades ago, Dan, a red-bearded towering American, decamped to the Amazon rain forest to save indigenous souls. His assignment was to translate the book of Mark into the tongue of the Pirah, a people whose puzzling speech seemed unrelated to any other on Earth. What he learned during his time with the Pirah led him to question the very foundations of his own deep beliefs. As a 'born again' atheist, Dan divorced his devout Christian wife and became estranged from his children. Having lost faith and family, his new life is dominated by the desire to leave behind his legacy. Everett's most controversial claim is that the Pirah language lacks 'recursion' - the ability to build an infinite number of sentences.
Make sure to check your pop-up blocker!!
Trailer
Similar Movies
CodeSwitching
Released on: 2019-06-24
Documentary
CodeSwitching is a mash-up of personal stories from three generations of African American students w...
At a Traffic Light
Released on: 2024-05-06
Documentary
We all have a dream... Nelson's dream is to learn how to read. He works at a traffic light in Maputo...
Do I Sound Gay?
Released on: 2015-07-10
Documentary
What makes a voice “gay”? A breakup with his boyfriend sets journalist David Thorpe on a quest to un...
Project Nim
Released on: 2011-07-08
Documentary
From the team behind Man on Wire comes the story of Nim, the chimpanzee who in the 1970s became the ...
Noam Chomsky: Knowledge and Power
Released on: 2015-10-23
Documentary, History
An in-depth look at the work and views of the man described as 'one of the greatest minds in human h...
Is the Man Who Is Tall Happy?
Released on: 2013-11-22
Documentary, Animation
A series of interviews featuring linguist, philosopher and activist Noam Chomsky done in hand-drawn ...
We Will Speak
Released on: 2023-03-23
Documentary
The Cherokee language is deeply tied to Cherokee identity; yet generations of assimilation efforts b...
American Tongues
Released on: 1987-06-24
Documentary
Rich in humor and regional color, this sometimes hilarious film uses the prism of language to reveal...
The Unanswered Question I : Musical Phonology
Released on: 1976-01-11
Documentary, Music
This series comprised six lectures on music, which cumulatively took the title of a work by Charles ...
The Unanswered Question IV : The Delights and Dangers of Ambiguity
Released on: 1976-01-11
Documentary, Music
This series comprised six lectures on music, which cumulatively took the title of a work by Charles ...
The Unanswered Question VI : The Poetry of Earth
Released on: 1976-01-11
Documentary, Music
This series comprised six lectures on music, which cumulatively took the title of a work by Charles ...
The Unanswered Question III : Musical Semantics
Released on: 1976-01-11
Documentary, Music
This series comprised six lectures on music, which cumulatively took the title of a work by Charles ...
To Save a Language
Released on: 2020-11-20
Documentary
Linguist Indrek Park has been working with Native American languages for over ten years. The film se...
Yeah You Rite!
Released on: 1985-01-20
Documentary
This award winning film is a fast paced, humorous look at the colorful way the residents of New Orle...
The Unanswered Question II : Musical Syntax
Released on: 1976-01-11
Documentary, Music
This series comprised six lectures on music, which cumulatively took the title of a work by Charles ...
K'anech'oxdekdiigh: I'm Not Going to Teach You
Released on: 2006-05-15
Documentary
The collaboration between the Tanacross and Northway, Alaska communities and trained linguistic spec...
The Unanswered Question V : The Twentieth Century Crisis
Released on: 1976-01-11
Documentary, Music
This series comprised six lectures on music, which cumulatively took the title of a work by Charles ...
Marc Okrand on Klingon
Released on: 2002-01-01
Documentary
Marc Okrand discusses his involvement with the Star Trek franchise and his work on inventing the Kli...