note on 'dhole'

[Justin M. Mott]

On Sat, 2 Jun 2001, Dr. John E. McLaughlin wrote:

> [From me]

> Before 'dhole' gets mixed up in the [D]/[T] discussion, 'dhole' is
> pronounced with initial [d] (it's from some Indian voiced aspirate), not
> [D].

> John E. McLaughlin, Ph.D.
> Associate Professor, English
> Utah State University

It's a minor point, but there is no evidence that the etymon of this word
had an initial voiced aspirate.  There are no clear sources for it from
any of the (major) Indo-Aryan languages; the most plausible source for it
is rather Kannada 'tola' "wolf".  Kannada, being Dravidian rather than
Indo-Aryan, lacks voiced aspirates.  If this etymology is correct, the
initial <dh> may just be a spurious (and isolated) spelling of initial
/t/ (which, and I may be mistaken, could surface as [d]).

-Justin Mott