Re: CHAT: silly names, prepositions

andrew scripsit:

> Do they really?  Kudos for the person who can tell me the international
> name for the country that is known in its indigenous language as Viti.
Fiji?  It seems to be called 'Viti' in French too, based on my strictly
minimal ability to read French.

> There is also a hint of conformity.  Do Americans get an alternative if
> they want to opt out of being identified as a member of the American
> cultural superstratum?
Well (and not speaking of African Americans here), there are those who
identify with their ethnic origins and those who don't.  I am Irish
and German by descent, and identify to some degree with those
countries.  OTOH, my former boss, a native Californian,
used to reply to the "Where does your family come from" with "Kansas
City", which was as much as he knew.   His surname is "Sollars", which
is highly indeterminate, especially considering the mangling that
so many surnames experienced during immigration.

--
John Cowan                                   cowan@ccil.org
One art/there is/no less/no more/All things/to do/with sparks/galore
        --Douglas Hofstadter