Folk taxonomy

Folk taxonomy is like a game of sorting different things into different groups. Imagine you have a bunch of toys like cars, dolls, and balls. Now, you can sort these toys into groups based on different features like color, size, or shape. For example, you can put all the big toys together in one group and the small toys in another group, or you can put all the red toys in one group and the blue toys in another group.

People from different cultures have been playing this game of sorting things into groups for thousands of years. They do it not just with toys, but with living things like plants and animals, and even with non-living things like rocks and clouds. They come up with different names and categories for different groups, based on the features they find most important.

So, for example, people in some cultures may group all animals with fur together and call them "mammals," while people in other cultures may group animals based on whether they can fly or swim. This game of folk taxonomy helps people organize and understand the world around them, and to communicate with each other about it.