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

On Nov 14, 2005, at 4:33 PM, 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

What about _Native American_ (=Amerind) vs. _native American_ (born
in...)?


-Stephen (Steg)
  "only the extremes are logical;
   but they are absurd."
      ~ samuel butler

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