[Ads-l] [Non-DoD Source] "Niger" or "Niger"?

[Salikoko S. Mufwene]

I had the hint from the time when citizens of Zaire, now Dem. Rep. of 
Congo, were referred to in English as /Zairian/, /Zairese/, or 
/Zairois/, with the latter preferred in the US foreign service and 
people more familiar with French. So, I googled /Nigerois///(with the 
last syllable pronounced [Rwa]; and there it was, in Wikitionary. It was 
apparently used by CIA agents, in alternation with /Nigérien/Nigerien/. 
The last syllable has a nasalized E; the /iEn/ pronunciation is 
feminine. People in Nigeria especially avoided any noun/adjective close 
to /Nigerian/, to avoid any confusion.

Sali.

On 10/21/2017 12:58 PM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
> Not in English, Sali, or at least not in OED.
>
> JL
>
> On Sat, Oct 21, 2017 at 12:44 PM, Salikoko Mufwene <mufw at uchicago.edu>
> wrote:
>
>> Please look for “Nigerois”.
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
>> On Oct 21, 2017, at 11:33 AM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM<
>> mailto:wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>> wrote:
>>
>> I haven't made an exhaustive search, but apparently and oddly the relevant,
>> useful adjective/noun *Nigeran (NYE-jur-un) doesn't exist in English.
>>
>> Who is responsible for this, if true?
>>
>> JL
>>
>> On Sat, Oct 21, 2017 at 12:25 PM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com
>> <mailto:wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>>
>> wrote:
>>
>> Niger Innis (son of Roy) is National Spokesperson for the Congress of
>> Racial Equality (CORE). He just spoke on CNN.
>>
>> Pronounced NYE-jur.
>>
>> JL
>>
>> On Sat, Oct 21, 2017 at 11:50 AM, Herb Stahlke <hfwstahlke at gmail.com
>> <mailto:hfwstahlke at gmail.com>>
>> wrote:
>>
>> For what it's worth, both pronunciations were current in Nigeria in the
>> 60s.  Of course we Peace Corps Volunteers preferred the French.
>>
>> Herb
>>
>> On Sat, Oct 21, 2017 at 10:11 AM, Jonathan Lighter <
>> wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com<mailto:wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>>
>> wrote:
>>
>> Lindsey Graham:
>>
>> Nih-JEER.
>>
>> BTW, the only tigers in Africa in 1887 would have been imported from
>> Asia,
>> where they live.
>>
>> So it's just as conceivable that the incident occurred in Africa as
>> anywhere else outside of Asia, as long as the tiger had been imported
>> (perhaps escaped from a circus).
>>
>> One mustn't assume.
>>
>> Which is more likely in 1887 - a Nigerien in Asia or a tiger in Africa.
>>
>> Hmmm.....
>>
>> JL
>> JL
>>
>> On Sat, Oct 21, 2017 at 7:44 AM, W Brewer <brewerwa at gmail.com<mailto:bre
>> werwa at gmail.com>> wrote:
>>
>> "A Girl Who was Swimming the Niger"  © Warren A. Brewer
>>
>> A girl who was swimming the Niger
>> Encountered a wandering tiger
>> "How, what, when, and where
>> Did you get to Niger?"
>> "With a compass," he said, "and Geiger"
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------
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>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
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>> truth."
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>
>
>

-- 
**********************************************************
Salikoko S. Mufwene                    s-mufwene at uchicago.edu
The Frank J. McLoraine Distinguished Service Professor of Linguistics and the College
Professor, Committee on Evolutionary Biology
Professor, Committee on the Conceptual & Historical Studies of Science
University of Chicago                  773-702-8531; FAX 773-834-0924
Department of Linguistics
1115 East 58th Street
Chicago, IL 60637, USA
http://mufwene.uchicago.edu/
**********************************************************


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