<html>
<font size=3>I have received the following query from Marshall Sahlins
about a kind of markedness pattern he finds in Fijian, and about whether
there are parallel examples from elsewhere. I told him I didn't know of
any, but offered to post the query on linganth for him. If you feel moved
to respond, you can email him directly or send your message to me and I
will forward it to him. You might also want to post your response for
discussion on the net. <br>
<br>
<blockquote type=cite cite>X-Sender:
marshall@anthro.spc.uchicago.edu<br>
Date: Fri, 1 Sep 2000 16:14:19 -0500<br>
To: Alan Rumsey <alr@coombs.anu.edu.au><br>
From: Marshall Sahlins <m-sahlins@uchicago.edu><br>
Subject: Re: Deixis found.<br>
<br>
Alan;<br>
have you ever heard of a marking practice where the unmarked term
is<br>
invariably the inferior member of the category--the opposite of
English<br>
"man"? (or old English meat ='food.') Fijian
classification is always like<br>
this, the lower of the pair is the category-- and more than just in<br>
category words. All lands are named after their indigenous,
commoner<br>
peoples.( The god of the land is likewise that of the original
people not<br>
the chief's god.) Food = kakana the root component (vs, icoi, the
meat/fish<br>
complement). The chief is "gone turaga" 'child chief'--he is
reckoned as<br>
the people's offspring, originally from their woman. (If you are
wondering,<br>
'human' is a distinct word [tamata], neither 'male' [tagane] nor
female<br>
[yalewa]. However tamata, is also 'common person' in opposition to
turaga,<br>
'chief,' which it otherwise includes as the unmarked term--so there
again.)<br>
______________________<br>
Marshall Sahlins<br>
Charles F. Grey Distinguished Service Professor of Anthropology
Emeritus<br>
Department of Anthropology<br>
University of Chicago<br>
1126 E. 59th Street<br>
Chicago, IL 60637<br>
<br>
phone:<x-tab> </x-tab>(773) 702-7703<br>
fax:<x-tab> </x-tab>(773) 702-4503<br>
home: <x-tab> </x-tab>(773) 241-5459<br>
fax
(h):<x-tab> </x-tab>(773)
241-7016</font></blockquote></html>