Re: Amerinds (was: Gallopavo (was: Re: fruitbats))

My favorite of these is Autochthonous American, although I suppose in some
people's mind it might imply that these are, oh, like Americans with face
tentacles :{{

The reason Amerind isn't much used today is because it's associated with a
specific hypothesis by Greenberg that nearly all of the languages of the
Americas are part of a single genetic family called "Amerind". If I were to
say "Language Momomomo is an Amerind language" today, this would have the
connotation that either I accept Greenberg's hypothesis and/or methods or
that (regardless of my views on Greenberg) Momomomo one of the languages
held by Greenberg to be in the Amerind family.

You'll get plenty of different opinions on whether Greenberg was *correct*
or not, but most specialists are in agreement that Greenberg's methods do
not provide *evidence* of genetic relatedness. (Believing that, say, human
language developed once and that all languages are its descendents and
believing that we can find *evidence* for it are very, very different
beliefs.) I find Greenbergian sorts of analyses useful, but just doing a
Greenbergian analysis doesn't mean the question is closed. What this sort of
analysis is most useful for is developing "leads"; it provides a sort of
roadmap for promising relationships that deserve greater study.

Anyway, that's why you rarely hear "Amerind" anymore.

On 11/14/05, tomhchappell <tomhchappell@...> wrote:
>
> --- In conlang@yahoogroups.com, Andreas Johansson <andjo@F...> wrote:
> > [snip]
> > I've always found it rather infuriating that English use "Indian"
> > both of the Subcontinent and of the peoples of the Americas. Most
> > other European languages use different derivatives of "India", eg
> > German _Inder_ "(subcontinental) Indians", _Indianer_ "(American)
> > Indians".
> >
> > One of the English words should be changed to "Indish" or something.
> >
> > Andreas
> >
>
> For some time the accepted academic designation was "Amerind". You
> can see this in linguists' articles from that time.
>
> Nowadays our own autonym, and therefore politically correct ethnonym,
> is "Native American". In my view this is insufficiently
> specific; "Native American" means "born in America", and so would
> include anyone who is not himself or herself an immigrant. To
> me, "Indigenous American", "Aboriginal American" or "American
> Aborigine", or "Autochthonous American" would be better -- though I
> don't really see what was so bad with "Amerind".
>
> (The views just expressed are my own, and not necessarily shared by
> even a single other Cherokee.)
>
> Tom H.C. in MI
>


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