Variant of <tamahnawis>; musings on sources of Kamloops =

Jargon
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=3Dus-ascii

Dave Robertson wrote:

> /tamanamis/ has a nasal /m/ for the original Jargon word's sound
>         /w/.  This is evidently not a mistake in Elmendorf's data; he
>         repeatedly uses the same form with /mis/ at the end of it.
>
> It would be swell to know whether any of you know of similar cases that
> have happened in the borrowing of Jargon words into our region's
> languages.

 Dave,

I have possibly analogous case, if one accepts the standard etymology of
CAMAS:  Ch. J. has /camas/,  which the Random House Dict. and the Amer.
Heritage Dict. derive from Nootkan /qawash-/ 'salmonberry', thus /m/ for =
/w/.
(Both consonants are labial, of course.)

But...I question that etymology. The word (as quawmash) was first =
recorded--by
Lewis & Clark in 1805--in an inland context as a Nez Perce word, and the =
word
still exists in Nez Perce and in Sahaptin. And  why would Ch. J. borrow a
Nootkan word for a berry-plant when Nootkan had, I assume, its own =
word(s) for
CAMAS. This would require an unusually radical change in meaning. The =
Jargon
has a variant /lakamas/ with the accreted French article: am I correct in
assuming that the French influence suggests an eastern (inland) =
provenance--as
with /lepishemo/ and other horse-related vocabulary--rather than a =
maritime
one? Can anyone tell me whether CAMAS has a transparent etymology in
Sahaptian, a circumstance that would argue strongly for a Sahaptian =
origin?
(I've ordered Aoki's dict. through interlibrary loan but have yet to =
receive
it.) So far, at any rate, the Sahaptian languages seem to me a more =
likely
source than Nootkan. I'd certainly appreciate suggestions from anyone.

By way of introduction...I'm doing freelance work in the etymology group =
of
the Oxford English Dict. My primary assignment is the revision of the =
OED's
existing entries--and the writing of new ones--for the names of North =
American
peoples and languages for the upcoming 3d edition of the Dictionary. The =
work
involves a lot of historical reading, thus Lewis & Clark and CAMAS. I've
accumulated a lot of material, and I'll do my best to answer any =
questions the
group might put to me. (That is, as time permits: I'm also a =
grain-stevedoring
supt., and the Fall is our busiest time of year.)

Regards,
Alan
--
Alan H. Hartley
119 West Kent Road
Duluth MN 55812-1152
U.S.A.
Tel. 218/724-5095
http://www.d.umn.edu/~ahartley/