"There are six birds in the tree."
Translation:树上有六只鸟。
December 20, 2017
19 CommentsThis discussion is locked.
This discussion is locked.
I think English speakers (along with other languages) think the limit of the tree is where the outer leaves are, whereas in other languages they think the air inside those limits are outside the tree. Son anything laying on the surface of a branch or leaf is "on" the tree. Mandarin appears to be in the second group.
dduuoo1234
969
This is an application of the Whorf hypothesis or linguistic relativity. It is not a safe assumption. A safer interpretation is that there is a difference in the commom idiom which is sign of habit and conformity not thought.