Request for ethnic terms

[E. Wayles Browne]

Tony Vitale asks:
>There is a "linguistics" issue which readers of this discussion group
>could probably help me with. I'm writing a dictionary and some papers
>on the lexicalization of ethnic expressions. ...
>
>        1. The expression must be figurative and not literal, e.g.,
>           China White 'heroin' is acceptable but China Sea is not.
>
>        2. The entry can be between one word and an entire sentence.
>
>        3. The entry must contain the name of (a) a country or continent
>           (cities are not acceptable), (b) an ethnic group or (c) a language
....
>
>        Swedish, Make Oneself (Spa. Hacerse el Sueco) - 'be indifferent to
>                something; see or hear something and then behave as if you
>                hadn't.'

I think this last example is remarkable. Consider the correspondences in
two Slavic languages I know: Serbo-Croatian (Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian)
praviti se Englez "make oneself an Englishman", Slovenian delati se Francoza
"make oneself a Frenchman", with the same meaning as given by Tony.

Wayles Browne, Assoc. Prof. of Linguistics
Morrill Hall, Cornell University
Ithaca, New York 14853, U.S.A.
tel. 607-255-0712 (o), 607-273-3009 (h)
e-mail ewb2 at cornell.edu (1989 to 1993 was: jn5j at cornella.bitnet //
jn5j at cornella.cit.cornell.edu)