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…
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…
Wild Word Friday!! This week has been an exciting one for me as my eBook publisher, Open Road Integrated Media (visit them at www.openroadmedia.com), has been REVEALing the cover art for my six Alaska books, one book each day, Monday through Saturday. The books will be available for purchase from all eBook retailers beginning May…
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…
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…
Wild Word Friday! I continue to feature Aleut and Athabascan words on Wild Word Friday to celebrate the May 28 release of my 6 Alaska novels in Ebook format by Open Road Integrated Media. (Find them at www.OpenRoadMedia.com) Male and Female Common Eider Ducks Today’s word KUKUTUX is from the Eastern dialect of the…
Wild Word Friday! ALEUT (pronounced al-yoot) is a word of undetermined origin that was used by Russian explorers to designate the people who lived on the islands and the peninsula that stretch from southwestern Alaska to divide the North Pacific from the Bering Sea. Some linguists believe that the word ALEUT was derived from the…
Wild Word Friday! Linguists generally agree that LYNCH is an eponymous word. That means that it originated from the name of a person. The problem seems to be which person. There are several candidates. The first is a James LYNCH Fitzstephen, a mayor of Galway in Ireland. According to some sources, in 1493, poor…
Wild Word Friday! There’s something about the humble EGG that always reminds me of Easter. I can’t believe how much fun I had as a kid (and still have!) dying EGGs a multitude of colors. Back then about the only decorations you could put on your EGGs were designs made with wax crayons before you…
Wild Word Friday! The word CHINCHILLA refers, of course, to a little rodent, about fifteen inches in length when full grown, which in the past was valued for its lovely pale-gray fur. CHINCHILLA also refers to cloth made for overcoats out of wool and cotton. This type of cloth has a tufted and napped surface…
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