Re: phonology of borrowed words

 --- Danny Wier skrzypszy:

> Other false nationalities applied to things include English horn (the alto
> oboe), which is a translation of French _cor anglais_, itself a corruption
> of _cor anglé_, that is, angled horn. A reference to the bent bocal joint
> which is straight in the soprano oboe.
You are right, except for the last sentence. The baroque edition of the
instrument ("oboe da caccia") was bent in itself, looking a bit like a
krummhorn. AFAIK the pear-shaped bocal was a later invention.

> Also, there is an instrument known as
> "viola d'amore", a viol-type bowed instrument with sympathetic strings much
> like an Indian sitar. The name has nothing to do with love; the instrument
> came from the Moors.
Interesting, I didn't know that. So how do you explain "oboe d'amore"?

Jan

=====
"Originality is the art of concealing your source." - Franklin P. Jones

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