Re: self designations

Dirk Elzinga wrote:
>What names do the speakers of your languages use to refer to
>themselves? Are the names morphologically transparent? How did
>these names come about?>
The Kash call themselves Kash, which also means ''person". The plural could
also be used, with def. art.:  e kashila 'The People'.   Although the
historical details aren't worked out, this derives ultimately from _kayi_
[kaj] 'living, alive'.  Probably anciently via another dialect/language
where /-y-/ came to be pronounced with friction, ['ka.Zi], then loss of the
final V and devoicing [Z] > [S].  Adj. form kashale 'pertaining to the Kash
people; human'.  There is a combining form /ke-/ which forms a few
agent-nouns, e.g. kerinda 'musician', and also indicates national origin:
keholunda 'a Holundan', keyandoli 'an Andolian'.
(They would call us kashila terakale.)

The other species calls themselves Gwr [gwr=] 'free'.  Further details not
available at this time.  Both Kash and Gwr have uncomplimentary terms for
each other, but these are seldom heard, as they were decreed to be non-PC
quite some time ago.