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<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face=Arial color=#000000 size=2>Wat'up, Dave?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face=Arial size=2>I'm embarrassed to admit that, despite my
BC upbringing, this word is completely new to me. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face=Arial size=2>I found oddly differing accounts of it in
the two sources I looked in: OED Online, and A Concise Dictionary of
Canadianisms (Avis et al., 1973). </FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face=Arial size=2>What they agree on is that it's Algonquian.
OED cites Narragansett, CDC cites Ojibwa and Cree.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face=Arial size=2>OED has a nice explanation of what it is
from Alexander Mackenzie (1789), and a second quote from A.Henry, Travels
(1809), and that's all. No indication that it's still known and used. CDC has
several citations, beginning with the same Henry quote, but dated to 1761!!
What's going on there?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face=Arial size=2>They also give contradictory accounts of
the pronunciation. OED says WOTap (vowels of "hot tap", with initial stress),
while CDC gives woTOP (two "hot" vowels with final stress). Since I don't think
I've ever heard the word spoken, I can't offer a personal opinion. What do you
and others say?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face=Arial size=2>Ross Clark</FONT></DIV></DIV>
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<FONT face=Tahoma size=2><B>From:</B> The Chinook List on behalf of David
Robertson<BR><B>Sent:</B> Tue 4/10/2005 4:10 p.m.<BR><B>To:</B>
CHINOOK@LISTSERV.LINGUISTLIST.ORG<BR><B>Subject:</B> wattap
etymology?<BR></FONT><BR></DIV>
<DIV>
<P><FONT size=2>Ives Goddard has an article "Algonquian Linguistic Change
and<BR>Reconstruction" in the volume edited by Philip Baldi, "Linguistic
Change<BR>and Reconstruction Methodology", published in 1990 by Mouton de
Gruyter.<BR><BR>In this article, Goddard mentions a Proto-Algonquian cognate for
Yurok &<BR>Wiyot (NW California, distant relatives of Algonquian), all forms
in the<BR>set meaning 'spruce root' apparently.<BR><BR>The form in PA is
*watapya. The Yurok is 7wohpeG (G=gamma), the Wiyot is<BR>to`p.<BR><BR>Is
this not the word we know in English as <wattap>, among other
spellings,<BR>in historical sources? I'd thought it was a NW word, but it
looks possible<BR>that it's from back East, from some Algonquian
language. <BR><BR>I don't have access to a specialized enough dictionary of
English here at<BR>home, so I wonder if someone else can tell about
this.<BR><BR>--Dave R<BR><BR>To respond to the CHINOOK list, click 'REPLY
ALL'. To respond privately to the sender of a message, click
'REPLY'. Hayu masi!<BR></FONT></P></DIV>
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To respond to the CHINOOK list, click 'REPLY ALL'. To respond privately to the sender of a message, click 'REPLY'. Hayu masi!