5.27.13
ALASKA
Wild Word Friday! Linguists agree that the name ALASKA comes to us from a Native word. There’s some disagreement about which word and even which language. Generally, the consensus is that ALASKA means The Great Land, derived from the Aleut word alyeska, which also means “that which the sea breaks against.” I’m not here to…
GGOL, GGAAK
Wild Word Friday! I thought we might have a short lesson in the Ahtna Athabascan language today. Athna is the language of the Ahtna ethnic group in the southwestern area of mainland Alaska. The original Native speakers lived in central Alaska. Today there are less than 100 Native speakers of the 4 dialects of the…
SALMON
Wild Word Friday! When I hear the word SALMON, I don’t think of Latin. As a matter of fact, Latin doesn’t enter my mind, but our English word SALMON does come from the Latin word salire, to leap. At least that’s the consensus of many linguists. And…I’m happy for those linguists, but today on…
QUDAX
I have heard experts and non-experts postulate that after acquiring language, humankind’s next huge step toward civilization was learning how to make and use fire. The Aleut word for fire is QUDAX. It’s spoken with short almost schwa-like vowels and a very rough, back-of-the-throat Q and X. I can’t begin to say it in the…
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