Languages around the world offer diverse views of time. An intriguing example of this can be found in the Aymara language. The word for future (qhipuru) means “behind time.” When speakers mention future events, they point over their shoulder, because that’s where the future is, while the past is in front of them. The reason for this makes sense: since we can’t see into the future, but we’ve already experienced the past, we treat the past as something we can easily see, just like what’s in front of us.
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The perception of time
