Language and Logic

Whorf  speed, Mr. Chomsky.

"I can't do that, Dave." -- Hal

"That does not compute." -- Mr. Spock

   Logic uses language to express and analyze concepts and relationships, but language itself is not logical.
   There is no reason why an item or concept is labeled by one word in one language but by something entirely different in another. It just is.
   Speakers of English may say it's "logical" to call a four-legged canine a "dog" while the French use the term "chien," which is not logical. No, it isn't logical. It just is.
   Those in one culture may see seven colors in a rainbow while others see only five. No logic, here. It just is. The light spectrum is infinite, and members of yet another culture may be able to "see" more than seven colors in a rainbow, even as we can perceive many shades of red.
   As for time, consider the famous Whorfian Hypothesis, beloved of linguistic and sociology students. According to Benjamin Lee Whorf, speakers of a certain tribal language in the American Southwest had no word for time, so he concluded they had no concept of time.
   Example: How long does it take to build a house?
   Tribal answer: First you lay the foundation, then you build the walls, and when that's finished you add a roof.
   Questioner: Yes, but how many days does that take?
   The speaker is unable to respond in his native tongue, because the concept of time and measuring it has little relevance in his culture. Yet if he switches to English, he can provide a detailed explanation, down to the number of hours and minutes for each segment of the job. That's because people of English-speaking cultures are in many ways locked in to measuring the passage of time.
   It's not that tribal speakers could not conceive of time, but that insisting a job be done within a certain allotted time frame is not relevant to their culture or way of life.
   Logic don't enter into it.
   As well ask, why is a banana?
   Because it's not an apple.