Oolichan/Eulachon/Eflaxhan

[terry glavin]

as i remember it, on the fraser, oolichan was originally the new westminster
spelling, which moreor less gave way to the port hammond and ladner spelling
(eulachon).

-----Original Message-----
From: Mike Cleven <mike_cleven at HOTMAIL.COM>
To: CHINOOK at LISTSERV.LINGUISTLIST.ORG <CHINOOK at LISTSERV.LINGUISTLIST.ORG>
Date: 21 April 2000 02:03
Subject: Oolichan/Eulachon/Eflaxhan


>>From: barbara harris <CHINOOK at uvvm.UVic.CA>
>>To: Mike Cleven <mike_cleven at HOTMAIL.COM>
>>Subject: Re: The word for communion (fwd)
>>Date: Thu, 20 Apr 2000 14:25:52 PDT
>>
>>Catching up on e-mail after a couple of weeks away: Mike C. suggested that
>>the
>>spelling of oolichan as eulachan is due to French influence. My revered
and
>>now deceased supervisor, Harry Scargill (one of the editore of
>>the_Dictionary
>>of Canadianisms on Historical Principles_) suggested - though not in
print,
>>to
>>my knowledge - that the <eu> was a desire on the part of local biologists
>>to
>>make the word look Greek, thereby conforming to the classical nomenclature
>>of
>>other native plants and animals. FWIW!
>
>Hmmm.  Thereby underlining my stab at pronouncing it according to modern
>demotic/koine, i.e. eflaxhan, and Liland's wondrous linkage of this to some
>ancient elephantine-deity visit......hmmmmmm.....now if that's not cultural
>cooptation, I don't know what is.
>
>Fun to put together a webpage of all the different recipes for oolichan
>grease, though.  Especially once they get the web-smell technology thing
>down and everyone can smell the end products..... yuck ;-(
>
>Mike
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