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2.6.1 Solega
Evidence from the Solega language strongly supports the hypothesis that utilitarian /
cultural concerns largely determine which organisms in the natural environment are to
be named. This is particularly true of plant name s , which is by far the richest semantic
domain in the language, in terms of total lexeme count.^5 Practically all the named plant
species in the language have a use in Solega culture, from the tallest rainforest trees
that provide wood, edible fruit or honeybee nesting sites, to the most unassuming pros-
trate herbs, whose leaves can be eaten. One signifi cant group of plants whose members
have not been named is the orchids. This is at fi rst surprising, because the members of
this large and diverse group are visually very striking (Fig. 2.1 ), and the Solega are
(^5) I have been able to document well over 500 plant name s to date, far more than the 80 or so bird
name s , and the 40 or so names of other animals.
Fig. 2.1 All orchids are called baccaṇike in Solega. No subordinate names exist in the language.
Photos by the author
2 Ethnotaxonomies and Universals: Investigating some Key Assumptions