[Ads-l] (Pop) sociolinguistics of the word "eskimo" in AmE

[Neal Whitman]

I've been struck by the attraction of "Eskimo" into Christmas-themed 
words simply by being associated with snow or cold weather. It's in two 
holiday songs that I know of:

"The Christmas Song"
Chestnuts roasting on an open fire,
Jack Frost nipping at your nose.
Yuletide carols being sung by a fire,
and folks dressed up like Eskimos.

"Winter Wonderland"
We'll frolic and play
the Eskimo way
walking in a winter wonderland.



On 2/20/2016 10:27 PM, Chris Waigl wrote:
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Chris Waigl <chris at LASCRIBE.NET>
> Subject:      (Pop) sociolinguistics of the word "eskimo" in AmE
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> This article, from the Alaska Dispatch News, may be of interest for =
> lexicographers and everyone who follows the the word use, register and =
> taboo. =
> http://www.adn.com/article/20160220/confused-about-word-eskimo-it-helps-lo=
> ok-deeper
>
>> =93=94=94
>> But with Eskimo it=92s a bit more complicated. The issue has lasted =
> for decades. In Canada, Inuit replaced Eskimo almost 40 years ago. More =
> than 20 years ago, Sambo Dorough called for getting rid of the word in =
> the Anchorage Daily News. But about 10 years ago I was scolded by a =
> North Slope elder for using Inuit. He said, =93That=92s Canadian. In =
> Alaska we=92re Eskimo.=94
>> =20
>> I asked Sambo Donough [professor of political science at UAA and =
> herself Inupiaq, and a childhood friend of the author=92s] about Alaska =
> Native groups that haven=92t decided themselves what they should be =
> called.
>> =20
>> =93This suggests something really important, Coolie,=94 she said, =
> using my long-discarded nickname from high school. =93To me, this =
> suggests the fact that indigenous communities in Alaska have not had the =
> political and intellectual space to have that conversation. They haven=92t=
>   arrived at a consensus. =85 I think what we=92re seeing, especially =
> amongst the younger generation, is individuals who want to answer that =
> question, and are thinking about their identity as individuals and the =
> collectivity that they are attached to, and in certain areas it is =
> becoming clearer and has crystallized about who we are as Native =
> people.=94
>> =20
>> Cheers to that effort. We need a new synonym for Eskimo. In the =
> meantime, please don=92t take offense.
>> =93=94"
> As someone who lives in Alaska, the issue of being careful in one=92s =
> word choice for ethnic or tribal labels is a very familiar one. And like =
> the author, I feel that while there=92s no good solution that fits every =
> usage need. The word =93Eskimo=94 appears in a number of perfectly =
> ok-to-use compounds (WEIO - the World Eskimo Indian Olympics, which is =
> an (awesome) annual culture-and-sports festival; various federally =
> recognised tribal designations such as the Nome Eskimo Community; eskimo =
> ice cream(*); all these terms are grating to Canadians, as far as I =
> know). It=92s of practical importance. At my own institution, the =
> University of Alaska Fairbanks, nearly 20% of students fall into the =
> =93Alaska Native or American Indian=94 ethnic category. When people from =
> outside Alaska (be they English native speakers or not) ask me, I =
> usually give the following simple advice: Never use =93Eskimo=94 in =
> Canada, where it=92s clearly perceived as derogatory; in Alaska, it is =
> not generally, and you=92ll find many people who refer to their own =
> Eskimo heritage [as evidenced in the comments on the article, both on =
> the site and on Facebook]. But it=92s also not without rubbing some the =
> wrong way, so if you *have* to use a label, it=92s better to use a more =
> specific modifier (Inupiat, Yup=92ik). But of course, in Canada, =
> Inuit/Inuk/Inuktitut (depending on whether you are talking about the =
> group, an individual, or the language) are usually very good =
> replacements, whereas in Alaska, you have about the same chance that the =
> eskimo you=92re referring to is Inupiaq or Yup=92ik, and they may be =
> Alutiiq, or even Aleut =97 a group who, because to history, will (in my =
> experience) more strenuously than others prefer not to be included in =
> the =93Eskimo=94 label. Plus, of course, there=92s a fair amount of =
> mixing going in, most significantly between Natives of Eskimo-Aleut =
> heritage and Athabaskan/Dene(**) background. Especially, again in my =
> experience, when meeting young people from the Yukon-Koyukuk region, =
> it=92s quite common to hear about mixed heritage =97 Inupiaq or Yup=92ik =
> (of various sub-groups) on one side, and Koyukuk Athabaskan on the =
> other.=20
>
> Chris
>
> (*) a mixture of sugar, vegetable fat (Crisco), Alaska =
> blueberries/salmonberries/whatever-is-available-berries and, sometimes, =
> boiled sheefish, which tastes a lot better than it sounds =97 you can =
> always call it akutaq of course=85=20
> (**) A topic for another day=85=20
> --=20
> Chris Waigl -- http://chryss.eu -- http://eggcorns.lascribe.net
> twitter: chrys -- friendfeed: chryss
>
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>

-- 
Dr. Neal Whitman
Lecturer, ESL Composition
School of Teaching and Learning
College of Education and Human Ecology
Arps Hall
1945 North High Street
whitman.11 at osu.edu
(614) 260-1622

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