[An-lang] papa

[David Gunn]

MessageThank you all for your help with "papa".  I see it means "daddy" more than anything and is probably not a loan word, but simply baby talk, as some have said. 

David Gunn
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Ross Clark (FOA DALSL) 
  To: Ross Clark (FOA DALSL) ; 'David Gunn' ; An-lang at anu.edu.au 
  Sent: Tuesday, October 21, 2003 3:05 AM
  Subject: RE: [An-lang] papa


  Also:
  Cook Is Maori /paapaa/ 
  Tuamotuan /paapaa/  ("[? < Eng.]" - Stimson)
  Tuvalu /paapaa/ 'daddy, father'
  Tokelau /papa/ '(children's word for) daddy, father'
  Imere /paapa/ (considered modern borrowing)

  That's all I find at a first look. 

  Ross Clark

    -----Original Message-----
    From: Ross Clark (FOA DALSL) [mailto:r.clark at auckland.ac.nz] 
    Sent: Tuesday, 21 October 2003 6:01 p.m.
    To: 'David Gunn'; An-lang at anu.edu.au
    Subject: RE: [An-lang] papa


    As others have pointed out, vowel length is important here. The word for "board" or "flat surface" or the name of the mythical mother has two short vowels. 
    Papa 'father' occurs in Deighton's Moriori vocabulary, but vowel length is not reliably recorded.
    The Maori word is /paapaa/, and Williams apparently considers it indigenous. He associates it with /paa/ 'a term of address to a male elder or superior' (e pa). 
    On the other hand, Milner gives Samoan /papa/ as children's language 'daddy', but again without suggesting it's from English.

    Ross Clark
      -----Original Message-----
      From: David Gunn [mailto:dagunn at email.uophx.edu] 
      Sent: Monday, 20 October 2003 3:48 p.m.
      To: An-lang at anu.edu.au
      Subject: [An-lang] papa


      Hello - I'm interested in the word "papa".  I read recently that this word means "father" in Maori and Moriori.  I know "papa" means rock or a board in some Polynesian languages. I just want to know how far the word "papa" is used throughout Polynesia in the sense of "father" or having something to do with geneology.  I also want to know if the word is definitley of Polynesian origin as opposed to being a European loan word. 

      If you'd like to answer straight to my email, you can reply to dagunn at uophx.edu

      Thanks!

      David Gunn
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