Fiji zigaboo---(role of "Igbo" tribe?)

[Wilson Gray]

Larry writes:

"Graciously done, Wilson."

Thank you, Larry! But, don't forget that I had only one alternative:

"Curses! Horned, again!" :-)

-Wilson

On 3/30/07, Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at yale.edu> wrote:
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: Fiji zigaboo---(role of "Igbo" tribe?)
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> >I know it only from hearing it spoken by I(g)bo friends. Of course,
> >they were speaking English and, no doubt, used the English
> >pronunciation.
>
> Precisément:  one labiovelar stop, hold the velar.
>
> >So, I concede your point, Larry.
>
> Graciously done, Wilson.  And I'm sure you're
> right about "bourgeois" > "buzhwa" as dialect
> borrowing for Leadbelly et al.  (And huzzahs to
> Charlie for those affricate-Americans.)
>
> LH
>
> >
> >Interesting story, Charlie.
> >
> >-Wilson
> >
> >On 3/30/07, Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at yale.edu> wrote:
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> >>mail header -----------------------
> >>Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> >>Poster:       Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
> >>Subject:      Re: Fiji zigaboo---(role of "Igbo" tribe?)
> >>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >>
> >>At 10:12 AM -0400 3/30/07, Wilson Gray wrote:
> >>>Is "Igbo" pronounced [igbo] in French? In English, it's pronounced
> >>>[ibo], whether spelled "Igbo" or "Ibo," in line with the native
> >>>pronunciation, [ibo].
> >>
> >>Really?  At UCLA they taught us it was indeed [i (gb)o], or whatever
> >>you have to do to denote a voiced labiovelar stop (*not* a cluster or
> >>sequence of g+b), with the syllable break as indicated above.
> >>
> >>LH
> >>
> >>>   Of course, there's nothing in either English or
> >>>French to prevent the spelling pronunciations, [igbo] and [ig at bo].
> >>>
> >>>-Wilson
> >>>
> >>>On 3/30/07, Cohen, Gerald Leonard <gcohen at umr.edu> wrote:
> >>>>---------------------- Information from the mail header
> >>>>-----------------------
> >>>>Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> >>>>Poster:       "Cohen, Gerald Leonard" <gcohen at UMR.EDU>
> >>>>Subject:      Re: Fiji zigaboo---(role of "Igbo" tribe?)
> >>>>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >>>>
> >>>>      Still in full speculative mode: One of the tribes in Nigeria is
> >>>>the "Igbo." For the French they would be "les Igbo," which might be
> >>>>misinterpreted slightly as "les Zigbo." Then with the insertion of
> >>>>schwa (as in U.S. variant "athuhlete" = athlete): Zigabo.  For
> >>>>French influence in Nigeria see
> >>>>
> >>>>      http://muse.jhu.edu/demo/history_in_africa/v032/32.1okafor.html
> >>>>
> >>>>      "Fiji" has nothing to do with Africa but was viewed popularly
> >>>>by Americans as a primitive, exotic place with a dark-skinned
> >>>>population, and I suppose that's why "Fiji" was linked to "zigaboo."
> >>>>
> >>>>     If at all possible, I'd like to avoid the etymology of
> >>>>"zigaboo/jigaboo" being invented as nonsense syllables. Hence the
> >>>>present search for alternatives.
> >>>>
> >>>>      Also, I note the following website on Google
> >>>>http://www.termpapergenie.com/Thingsfallapart.html
> >>>>
> >>>>and what interests me is the mention there that the African Igbo
> >>>>tribe had been regarded as savages or mindless tribals. That
> >>>>misperception is all that would be needed to propel "les Igbo" into
> >>>>an ethnic slur in the early 20th century. The full statement on the
> >>>>website is::
> >>>>
> >>>>     'Chinua Achebe has penned the book "Things Fall Apart" as
> >>>>retaliation against the Western books portraying African cultures
> >>>>and tribal religions as brutal, savage and animalistic. He attempts
> >>>>to portray through his book that the people of the African Igbo
> >>>>tribe are not savages or mindless tribals, they are a people with a
> >>>>history and a culture and a well thought out way of life. He also
> >>>>tries to give a realistic portrayal of the Igbo tribe`s traditions,
> >>>>festivals, social hierarchy and religious activities, along with
> >>>>the effect of Imperialism on the tribe and its people, with special
> >>>>reference to the hero of the book, Okonkwo, drawing a parallel
> >>>>between his fall and the tribe`s fall in the face of colonialism.'
> >>>>
> >>>>Gerald Cohen
> >>>>
> >>>>------------------------------------------------------------
> >>>>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >>>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>--
> >>>All say, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange complaint to
> >>  >come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
> >>>-----
> >>>                                                       -Sam'l Clemens
> >>>
> >>>Dope wil get you through times of no money better than money will get
> >>>you through times of no dope.
> >>>-----
> >>>                                          -Free-Wheeling Franklin
> >>>
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> >>
> >>------------------------------------------------------------
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> >>
> >
> >
> >--
> >All say, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange complaint to
> >come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
> >-----
> >                                                      -Sam'l Clemens
> >
> >Dope wil get you through times of no money better than money will get
> >you through times of no dope.
> >-----
> >                                         -Free-Wheeling Franklin
> >
> >------------------------------------------------------------
> >The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>


--
All say, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange complaint to
come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
-----
                                                      -Sam'l Clemens

Dope wil get you through times of no money better than money will get
you through times of no dope.
-----
                                         -Free-Wheeling Franklin

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org