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Re: Language naming (again)

From:Hawksinger <hawksinger@...>
Date:Tuesday, January 26, 1999, 23:33
Daniel Andreasson wrote:
>
> Although my favourite is "chichimecatl" (lang name "Chichimeca") which means "lineage of dogs" :D >
Alas, this is an all too common folk etymology. To quote from Fran Kartunnen's Nahuatl dictionary (let us bow in reverence), "By its vowel length it is clearly not derived from the words for 'dog', 'rags, patches', or 'bitter'. It is possibly derivationally related to CHICHI 'to suckle'." BTW, there are macrons over the I's in CHICHI. Other sources suggest that it just means 'chichimec'. There is a language called Chichimec, Otomian I believe, but I don't know their self designation. -- Brad Coon hawksinger@fwi.com http://www.fortunecity.com/rivendell/everquest/624 (Conlang pgs.) http://www.ipfw.indiana.edu/east1/coon/web/index.htm (home pg. et al.) http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/Gorge/7264 (outdoor and prim.skills) http://members.tripod.com/~Hawksinger (wine and whisky pgs) Civilize the mind and make savage the body. (Chinese proverb)