Slave names

[Laurence Horn]

At 11:00 AM -0500 12/12/07, Laurence Horn wrote:
>At 3:48 PM +0000 12/12/07, Tom Zurinskas wrote:
>>This thread of "slave names" comes close to a
>>thread talking about "vernacular dialect".
>>Looking "vernacular" up shows that it means
>>"slave".
>
>Sorry, but you don't learn what a

Oops, that should have been "a word".  Sorry for the deletion.

>means from its
>etymology.  That's why the lexicographic practice
>arose of providing entries in which the
>meaning(s) of a word are distinguished from its
>etymology.
>
>LH
>
>>See m-w.com
>>Main Entry: 1ver·nac·u·lar
>>Pronunciation: \v?(r)-?na-ky?-l?r\
>>Function: adjective   (not a noun? -tz)
>>Etymology: Latin vernaculus native, from verna
>>slave born in the master's house, native
>>Date: 1601
>>
>>My take on the definition of the term
>>"vernacular dialect" is that it's more a
>>specialized vocabulary than a pronunciation;
>>e.g., police, hospitals, CB'ers, scientists.

This sounds more like an argot or jargon than a
vernacular, at least as the latter term is
normally used.

LH

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