Fwd: Oosik in the news

Fri Nov 16 01:08:55 UTC 2012

Here's the latest:

Hi Sissy,
Here's what I've found - the word (or variants of it) is found in Inuktitut
and Yupik dialects -  I've included the dictionary sources as well:

Inuktitut (Inuit)
>From *Ulirnaisigntiit: An Inuktitut-English Dictionary of Northern Quebec,
Labrador and Eastern Arctic Dialects*, by Lucien Schneider
*usuk* (plural -*it*)
1) male genital organ and most particularly the penis
2) said likewise of things in one way or another that remind one of it,
whether vaguely or more exactly (tongue of a trap, spout of a teapot, etc.)

>From *Inuktitut: a Multi-Dialectal Outline Dictionary (with an
Aivilingmiutaq Base) - *by Alex Spalding and Thomas Kusugaq
*usuk* (plural -*it*) - penis
*usuaq* - penis of a caribou or walrus or horse; also a large male caribou.

>From *Inuinnaqtun-English Dictionary *- by Gwen Angulalik
*uhuk* *- *penis
My note: this dictionary is representative of Inuit in western Nunavut

Inuktitut (Inuvialuit)
>From *Siglit Inuvialuit Uqausiita Kipuktirutait: Basic Siglit Inuvialuit
Eskimo Dictionary - *by Ronald Lowe and the Committee for Orignal Peoples
Entitlement
*usuk *- penis

Inuktitut (Uummarmiut)
>From *Uummarmiut Uqalungiha Mumikhitchirutingit: Basic Uummarmiut Eskimo
Dictionary* *- *by Ronald Lowe and the Committee for Orignal Peoples
Entitlement
*uhuk* - penis

Yupik (Inupiat)
>From *Inupiat Eskimo Dictionary* - by Donald H. Webster and Wilfred Zibell
*Usuk, usruk* - penis

My note: I'm uncertain as to whether Inupiat dialects belong to the Yupik
or Inuktitut language groups, I`ve placed it with Yupik more based on my
understanding of its prevalence of being spoken in Alaska (sorry,
linguistics isn't my strong set).

As for the carvings themselves - we have no polar bear penis bone carvings
in our collection, I haven`t been able to find evidence of them in others.
Walrus penis bone carvings exist aplenty, either carved or scrimshawed.
Aiviq usuk would be a transliteration of walrus penis in Inuktitut.  Hope
this is helpful.

On Thu, Nov 15, 2012 at 7:50 AM, Garth Hardy <garthhardy at gmail.com> wrote:

> That's fine - can you be clear though that what's below is just guess work
> at this point?  I'll see what I can find this morning and get back to you
> at noon.
>
>
> On Wed, Nov 14, 2012 at 10:59 PM, Sissy SoFunk <sissy.sofunk at gmail.com>wrote:
>
>> Do you mind if I'm quoting you wholesale back to the list?
>>
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Nov 14, 2012 at 10:50 PM, Garth Hardy <garthhardy at gmail.com>wrote:
>>
>>> hey sissy,
>>> i'll have a look tomorrow at a couple of dictionaries at work.  The
>>> walrus cock bone carvings are seen more in Alaska and the Chuckchi than the
>>> Canadian Arctic, so my first guess is that oosik is a yupik term as opposed
>>> to an inuktitut one - but i'll double check.  That spelling looks to be
>>> pretty anglicized and if you have an Inuktitut or Yupik or esqu-aleut
>>> dictionary handy you'll probably have more luck looking for a spelling like
>>> usiq or uusiq.  I've only encountered walrus penis bone carvings at museum,
>>> never polar bear ones, and am currently doing some research on traditional
>>> uses of the polar bear by Inuit and I don't recall seeing anything about
>>> carving or scrimshaw done any of the polar bear bones - bear bone is
>>> especially hard, it was mostly prized by Inuit for its use in knife edging
>>> and arrow and harpoon head pointing, as well as for tipping the points of
>>> the kakivak - not so much in art, fetish or amulet making.
>>>
>>> Anyway I'll have a look tomorrow and see what I can find for you.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Wed, Nov 14, 2012 at 9:42 PM, Sissy SoFunk <sissy.sofunk at gmail.com>wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hey garth, this just came up on the american dialect society listserve.
>>>>  Any ideas?  If you're bored tomorrow at the museum, maybe you have some
>>>> research tools at your disposal?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> In the Seattle Times today by Erika Bolstad, (
>>>> http://seattletimes.com/html/nationworld/2019676814_polarbears14.html):
>>>>
>>>> -----
>>>> Since polar bears were listed in 2008 as threatened, Americans haven't
>>>> been able to import polar bear trophies — generally a tanned skin and claws
>>>> along with the skull and the penis bone, known scientifically as a
>>>> "baculum" and in the indigenous languages of the Arctic as an "oosik."
>>>> -----
>>>>
>>>> The earliest citation I find on Google Books is 1966 (
>>>> http://ow.ly/fiGTc). I haven't been thorough, but the citations I saw
>>>> indicated that "oosik" is a walrus penis bone. Also, I don't see which
>>>> languages that "languages of the Arctic" refer to.
>>>>
>>>> Benjamin Barrett
>>>> Seattle, WA
>>>>
>>>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>>>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Labour is entitled to all that it creates.
>>>
>>
>>
>
>
> --
> Labour is entitled to all that it creates.
>

-- 
Labour is entitled to all that it creates.

On Thu, Nov 15, 2012 at 10:38 AM, Garth Hardy <garthhardy at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi Sissy,
> Here's what I've found - the word (or variants of it) is found in
> Inuktitut and Yupik dialects -  I've included the dictionary sources as
> well:
>
> Inuktitut (Inuit)
> From *Ulirnaisigntiit: An Inuktitut-English Dictionary of Northern
> Quebec, Labrador and Eastern Arctic Dialects*, by Lucien Schneider
> *usuk* (plural -*it*)
> 1) male genital organ and most particularly the penis
> 2) said likewise of things in one way or another that remind one of it,
> whether vaguely or more exactly (tongue of a trap, spout of a teapot, etc.)
>
> From *Inuktitut: a Multi-Dialectal Outline Dictionary (with an
> Aivilingmiutaq Base) - *by Alex Spalding and Thomas Kusugaq
> *usuk* (plural -*it*) - penis
> *usuaq* - penis of a caribou or walrus or horse; also a large male
> caribou.
>
> From *Inuinnaqtun-English Dictionary *- by Gwen Angulalik
> *uhuk* *- *penis
> My note: this dictionary is representative of Inuit in western Nunavut
>
> Inuktitut (Inuvialuit)
> From *Siglit Inuvialuit Uqausiita Kipuktirutait: Basic Siglit Inuvialuit
> Eskimo Dictionary - *by Ronald Lowe and the Committee for Orignal Peoples
> Entitlement
> *usuk *- penis
>
> Inuktitut (Uummarmiut)
> From *Uummarmiut Uqalungiha Mumikhitchirutingit: Basic Uummarmiut Eskimo
> Dictionary* *- *by Ronald Lowe and the Committee for Orignal Peoples
> Entitlement
> *uhuk* - penis
>
> Yupik (Inupiat)
> From *Inupiat Eskimo Dictionary* - by Donald H. Webster and Wilfred Zibell
> *Usuk, usruk* - penis
> My note: I'm uncertain as to whether Inupiat dialects belong to the Yupik
> or Inuktitut language groups, I`ve placed it with Yupik more based on my
> understanding of its prevalence of being spoken in Alaska (sorry,
> linguistics isn't my strong set).
>
> As for the carvings themselves - we have no polar bear penis bone carvings
> in our collection, I haven`t been able to find evidence of them in others.
> Walrus penis bone carvings exist aplenty, either carved or scrimshawed.
> Aiviq usuk would be a transliteration of walrus penis in Inuktitut.  Hope
> this is helpful.
>
> for the works,
> garth
>
> On Thu, Nov 15, 2012 at 7:50 AM, Garth Hardy <garthhardy at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> That's fine - can you be clear though that what's below is just guess
>> work at this point?  I'll see what I can find this morning and get back to
>> you at noon.
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Nov 14, 2012 at 10:59 PM, Sissy SoFunk <sissy.sofunk at gmail.com>wrote:
>>
>>> Do you mind if I'm quoting you wholesale back to the list?
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Wed, Nov 14, 2012 at 10:50 PM, Garth Hardy <garthhardy at gmail.com>wrote:
>>>
>>>> hey sissy,
>>>> i'll have a look tomorrow at a couple of dictionaries at work.  The
>>>> walrus cock bone carvings are seen more in Alaska and the Chuckchi than the
>>>> Canadian Arctic, so my first guess is that oosik is a yupik term as opposed
>>>> to an inuktitut one - but i'll double check.  That spelling looks to be
>>>> pretty anglicized and if you have an Inuktitut or Yupik or esqu-aleut
>>>> dictionary handy you'll probably have more luck looking for a spelling like
>>>> usiq or uusiq.  I've only encountered walrus penis bone carvings at museum,
>>>> never polar bear ones, and am currently doing some research on traditional
>>>> uses of the polar bear by Inuit and I don't recall seeing anything about
>>>> carving or scrimshaw done any of the polar bear bones - bear bone is
>>>> especially hard, it was mostly prized by Inuit for its use in knife edging
>>>> and arrow and harpoon head pointing, as well as for tipping the points of
>>>> the kakivak - not so much in art, fetish or amulet making.
>>>>
>>>> Anyway I'll have a look tomorrow and see what I can find for you.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Wed, Nov 14, 2012 at 9:42 PM, Sissy SoFunk <sissy.sofunk at gmail.com>wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Hey garth, this just came up on the american dialect society
>>>>> listserve.  Any ideas?  If you're bored tomorrow at the museum, maybe you
>>>>> have some research tools at your disposal?
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> In the Seattle Times today by Erika Bolstad, (
>>>>> http://seattletimes.com/html/nationworld/2019676814_polarbears14.html
>>>>> ):
>>>>>
>>>>> -----
>>>>> Since polar bears were listed in 2008 as threatened, Americans haven't
>>>>> been able to import polar bear trophies — generally a tanned skin and claws
>>>>> along with the skull and the penis bone, known scientifically as a
>>>>> "baculum" and in the indigenous languages of the Arctic as an "oosik."
>>>>> -----
>>>>>
>>>>> The earliest citation I find on Google Books is 1966 (
>>>>> http://ow.ly/fiGTc). I haven't been thorough, but the citations I saw
>>>>> indicated that "oosik" is a walrus penis bone. Also, I don't see which
>>>>> languages that "languages of the Arctic" refer to.
>>>>>
>>>>> Benjamin Barrett
>>>>> Seattle, WA
>>>>>
>>>>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Labour is entitled to all that it creates.
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Labour is entitled to all that it creates.
>>
>
>
>
> --
> Labour is entitled to all that it creates.
>

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