suggestions for Indigenismo to nonindigenous audience

[Michael Mccafferty]

On Tue, 20 Jul 1999, Manuel Angel Cardenas wrote:

> Saludos a todos,
>
> Actually...I believe Christy is correct.  Chicago, so I am told is an
> indigenous word that means "place of the wild onions"
>
> chao
>
> Manuel Angel Cardenas
> Yax Chan Chaak
> mcarde4 at uic.edu


Well, more or less.  The term "Chicago" is simply a European spelling for
Miami-Illinois /shika:kwa/, 'skunk' BUT also the term for Allium
tricoccum, a plant we call leek or some call "wild onions."  Note,
however, that "Chicago" contains no morpheme for 'place'.  However, later
Miami speakers did call the modern town /shika:konki/, 'at the skunk
(leek)', which is commonly translated to 'place of the leek'.  The actual
original place-name is far more complex than simple "Chicago," however.

Best,

Michael


>
> On Mon, 19 Jul 1999 cristi at ix.netcom.com wrote:
>
> > I wouldn't be able to believe that with wild onions all around them
> > (as there are all over north america), there would be a large group
> > of native americans who had never learned that they tasted good....
> >
> > Cristi
> >
>


Michael McCafferty
C.E.L.T.
307 Memorial Hall
Indiana University
Bloomington, Indiana
47405
mmccaffe at indiana.edu

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"Glory" (what a word!) consists in going
from the me that others don't know
to the other me that I don't know.

-Juan Ramon Jimenez

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Michael McCafferty
C.E.L.T.
307 Memorial Hall
Indiana University
Bloomington, Indiana
47405
mmccaffe at indiana.edu