the english language didn't spread sars
Friday, May 22, 2009 (8:10 PM)
back in 2003 when the sars epidemic started, japan seem immuned to the virus. there were virtually zero cases of sars patients in the country.
i remember reading an article where some japanese guy claimed that it is due to the language that sars didn't spread in japan. apparently, unlike the english language, articulation of the characters in the japanese alphabet does not cause saliva to fly between interlocuters and this is alleged to be the reason that prevented the spread of sars in the nation.
today, there are over 200 cases of influenza A (h1n1) in japan and that has debunked the nonsense that language has anything to do with the spread of germs. that is of course unless those who got it spoke anything other than japanese.
being a linguistics graduate and a speaker of the japanese language, i can understand that none of the japanese characters contain aspirated plosives but i do not believe that it is these aspirated plosives that made the difference. afterall, i've personally witnessed japanese speakers fire their saliva at their victims while speaking the language.