<html>
At 11:19 16.12.2002 +0100, Östen Dahl wrote:<br><br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite><font face="arial" size=2>One of
the minority languages that were recently officially recognized in Sweden
is meänkieli . This was previously regarded as a variety of Finnish and
referred to in Swedish as tornedalsfinska . Meänkieli is
transparently our language in meänkieli. Apparently, this is a relatively
new coinage. There may of course be problems if more Finnic varieties
choose the same option!<br>
</font><br>
<font face="arial" size=2> <br>
</font><br>
<font face="arial" size=2>Claude Hagège mentioned Guaraní as a case of a
language referred to as our language by its own speakers. Another
language in the same family that I have some first-hand knowledge of is
Sirionó. Although it has been labelled mbia chëë the people s language in
some published texts, my feeling is that the most common way of referring
to it in speech is nande chëë our language (our speech) . <br>
</font><br>
<font face="arial" size=2> <br>
</font><br>
<font face="arial" size=2>There is of course a descriptive problem here:
to what extent are such expressions conventionalized? Obviously, anyone
could call their mother tongue our language , and it is quite natural to
do so, in the same way as you would probably refer to your family as our
family , in particular when speaking to its members, rather than using a
last name or anything similar.<br>
</font><br>
<font face="arial" size=2> <br>
</font><br>
<font face="arial" size=2>- Östen Dahl</font></blockquote><br><br>
The group of people in Southern Mexico known as Zoque in English and
Spanish (originally a Nahua word), do not have a name for their own
ethnic group or their language. For their language, they simply use the
word 'ode' (=language), and they refer to themselves as 'ode püt'
(=language people), or 'chabyajpabü ode' (= those who speak the
language). This latter term may also be used to refer to indigenous
people in general.<br><br>
<font face="arial" size=2>Jan Terje Faarlund<br><br>
<br>
<x-sigsep><p></x-sigsep>
Professor Jan Terje Faarlund<br>
Universitetet i Oslo<br>
Institutt for nordistikk og litteraturvitskap<br>
Postboks 1013 Blindern<br>
N-0315 Oslo (Norway)<br><br>
Tel. (+47) 22 85 69 49 (office)<br>
(+47) 22 12 39 66 (home)<br>
Fax (+47) 22 85 71 00</font></html>