`zebra'

Larry Trask larryt at cogs.susx.ac.uk
Sun Apr 18 13:42:00 UTC 1999


On Fri, 16 Apr 1999, Dr. John E. McLaughlin and Michelle R. Sutton wrote:

> Robert Orr wrote:

(Actually, it was me -- LT.)

> > >This is one story.  The four dictionaries in my office give five
> > >different stories, though all agree that Spanish or Portuguese is the
> > >direct source.  The stories are:

> > >(4) from an unspecified Congolese language;

> > >You pays your money...

> > >(4) is hard to evaluate without specifics, but why a Congolese
> > >       language?  Zebras are found on the eastern savannahs, not in
> > >       the Congolese rain forests.

> Not to mention the problem that there are over a hundred "Congolese"
> languages. Which one?

No idea: the source here is the OED, which flatly declares "Congolese",
without another word, to be the source.

Since I'm an advisor to the OED, perhaps I'll ask them to reconsider
that entry in the next edition.

Larry Trask
COGS
University of Sussex
Brighton BN1 9QH
UK

larryt at cogs.susx.ac.uk



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