Cheers, Ken Hanly
Scott Martens wrote:
> Ken Hanly a écrit:
>
> > Exactly. Interestingly enough the Merriam-Webster online
> > dictionary
> > notes that the term may be derived from a group, the
> > Montagnaise I
> > believe, who speak an Algonkian language.
>
> Montaignais is more or less a dialect of Cree. Of course,
> what distinguishes a dialect from a language is mostly
> opinion and small arms. The case could be made that its the
> same language as James Bay Cree. They are about as different
> different as, say, Steinbach Plautdietsch (an example you
> might be familiar with) and standard German.
>
> That comparison is sort of off the top of my head, so don't
> go quoting me as an expert on that. My Plautdietsch is
> better than my Cree, and I haven't spoken either in years.
>
> At any rate, I wouldn't put too much faith in the story that
> its a Montaignais word either. As a former lexicologist, I
> know how often dictionaries get things wrong. I've heard
> that "eskimo" is a word for "meat-eater", "snowshoe people",
> and I've heard that it's Cree for "cock-sucker" or some
> similar insult. I'm skeptical until I see someone with a
> well attested word in some variant of Cree that sounds like
> "eskimo" and something to show that the HBC had some contact
> with them around the same period when "eskimo" is first
> attested.
>
> On the other hand, it's not exactly a world shaking issue.
>
> Scott Martens
>
>
>
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