Number of Eskimo Words for Snow

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How many Eskimo words are there for snow?

About 12.

There are about 12 different Eskimo words for snow. This is according to the book The Language Instinct written by Steven Pinker, published in 1994. This is contrary to a widespread idea that there are hundreds of Eskimo words for ‘Ëœsnow’â„¢, propagated since the 1980s and later dismissed as either a hoax or an overstated distortion. The original 1940 article by Benjamin Whorf on the subject asserts only 7 distinct Eskimo words for snow.

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