serviette

[Salikoko S. Mufwene]

At 05:49 AM 3/11/2005 -0600, J. Nihart wrote:
>I have spoken French and English all my life and have never asked for a
>serviette in any restaurant.  A serviette is a towel . In French a Cajun
>calls a  paper napkin "a Nap- kin "(accent on the second syllable). A
>serviette is either a wash cloth or a dish towel.
>J. Nihart

I grew up a Francophone and the term I learned for 'napkin' is "serviette."
I just checked again with a Parisian friend of mine, a native speaker, and
she says the term is serviette. Could it be that (your) Cajun French
reflects English influence? Or maybe I missed an earlier thread of your
remark?...

Sali.

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Salikoko S. Mufwene                    s-mufwene at uchicago.edu
Frank J. McLoraine Distinguished Service Professor
University of Chicago                    773-702-8531; FAX 773-834-0924
Department of Linguistics
1010 East 59th Street
Chicago, IL 60637
http://humanities.uchicago.edu/faculty/mufwene
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