[Ads-l] "soul" < calque of Wolof /fit/

[Z Sohna]

I've not found much research exploring the use and etymology of "soul"
among the Native Black American population of the US. I've witnessed "soul"
employed as a noun, a verb, and an adjective - along with "to have soul",
"with soul", and "to lack soul". Major, Smitherman, and El-Kati wrote about
its various definitions, but none explored the etymology of "soul", "have
soul", "with soul", or "lack soul" in the publications I consulted thus far.

Etymonline has a short mention of the Native Black American "soul", and
rather predictably attributes it to "jazz slang". As I'm aware that the use
and origin of a given word among Native Black Americans is not likely
(highly unlikely) to be limited to the realm in which one first encountered
or documented it, I decided to look further - assuming it was likely much
older (and broader in use) and was simply undocumented. First, I am listing
the following definitions I've collected thus far (leaving out the
adjectives, as this is already longer than I intended:

soul n 1: Energy, dynamism, verve (in accordance with the core culture and
tradition of Native Black Americans) 2: Vehemence (in accordance with the
core culture and tradition of Native Black Americans) 3: Strength, power
(said of speech, i.e, that which is in accordance with the core culture and
tradition of Native Black Americans) 4: Great passion (of speech and
utterances, specifically those which are consistent with the core culture
of Native Black Americans) 4: Conviction (consistent with the core culture
of Native Black Americans).  *–Soul*  prop n 1: Native Black American
musical tradition.  *–have soul* 1: Be able to move (said of body language,
walk, or dance) in a manner that is consistent with that of Native Black
American culture and tradition 2: Have an energy or dynamism that is
consistent with that of Native Black American culture and tradition 3:
Utter speech or sing with conviction, specifically in a manner that is
consistent with that of Native Black American culture and tradition 4:
Utter speech or sing in a manner that is consistent with that of Native
Black American culture and tradition. 5: Be resilient, be strong
(figurative).  *–have no soul*, *lack soul* 1: Move, dance, speak, sing,
play musical instruments, or cook in any of the bland, stiff, robotic,
rehearsed, imitative, mediocre, or unimpressive ways associated with
Caucasians or other non-members (of any race). 2: Move, dance, speak, sing,
play musical instruments, or cook in a fashion that is not consistent with
Native Black American core culture and tradition (can be said of any race,
including Black people who are not Native Black Americans).  *–with soul*
1: Vehemently, passionately 2: Earnestly 3: With conviction 4: In a manner
involving great energy, force, or power (said of speech, song, dance, or
music).* –Soul (on)!*  1: Utterance of encouragement, utterance meaning “be
resilient”, “be determined”, “be earnest (in one’s speech or one’s
endeavors)”. * –Soul Food* 1: The Native Black American culinary tradition
2: Any of the foods and culinary dishes belonging to said tradition (often
sanitized with the appellation “Southern” in American media).* –Soul People*
1: The Native Black American ethnic group and/or stateless nation.

In include the following clip, a favorite, that illustrates the point well,
at timestamp 2:07 to 3:20:
https://youtu.be/JO0vCveerMA?feature=shared&t=145

With that said, the Native Black American "soul", "have soul", "with soul",
and "lack soul" are in fact calques, derived from the Wolof *fit*
(literally, "soul")*,* the Wolof *am fit* (literally "to have soul"), the
Wolof *ak fit* (literally "with soul"), and the Wolof *ɲaːkːə fit*
(literally "to lack soul"). More details below regarding the calque's Wolof
etymology.

Wolof /fit/
     ‘energy’ K&O 1923, 108
     ‘verve’ Guy-Grand 1923, 617
     ‘vehemence’ Guy-Grand 1923, 611
     ‘strength’, ‘power’ Guy-Grand 1923, 621
     ‘resilience’ Guy-Grand 1923, 526
     ‘with passion or strong feeling’, ‘vehement’ Guy-Grand 1923, 611
     ‘expressive (said of language)’ Guy-Grand 1923, 241
     'literally “soul”’ K&O 1923, 108; Diouf 2003, 128

Wolof /ak fit/
     ‘vehemently’ Guy-Grand 1923, 612; ‘forcefully’ Guy-Grand 1923, 622;
‘literally “with soul”’
          < Wolof *ak* ‘with’ M&G 1997, 359 s.v. *ag* + Wolof *fit* ‘soul’
K&O 1923, 108; Diouf 2003, 128

Wolof /am fit/
     ‘to have energy’ K&O 1923, 214
     'to be resilient'
     ‘literally “to have soul”’ < Wolof *am* ‘to have’ M&G 1997, 2 + Wolof
*fit* ‘soul’ K&O 1923, 108; Diouf 2003, 128

Wolof /ɲaːkːə fit/
     ‘nonchalant’ Guy-Grand 1923, 369 s.v. *ñàkk fit*
     ‘indolent’ Guy-Grand 1923, 325 s.v. *ñàkk fit*
     ‘to lack the ability or strength to move’ Guy-Grand 1923, 326 s.v. *ñakă
fit*
     ‘literally ‘to lack soul’” < Wolof *ɲaːkːə* ‘to lack’ M&G 1997, 146
s.v. *ñàkk* + Wolof *fit* ‘soul’ K&O 1923, 108; Diouf 2003, 128

Best,
Zola Sohna

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