Fact check: Does "Latah" (Idaho) really mean "teeth"?

[Duane Pasco]

Dave....
	Latah is also the name of the county over there. I think it is a Nez  
perce word, but I don't know what it means. I haven't heard, or  
spoken that language for over forty five years.
	The way some of these things were spelled by early Whites leaves  
room for a lot of conjecture, as you know. I guess I think of the "r"  
thing as sounding like a German "ch". Barbeau did this when trying to  
spell Tsimshian words. I think because he was French. He used a 'rh"  
combo for the harsher version of that when you press the back of your  
tongue against your pallete and asperate it.
	Here's an interesting sidenote, aince Nez Perce [Nimipu] was brought  
up and that is their name for the spot where Lewiston and Clarkston  
are, at the confluence of the Clearwater and Snake rivers,  
"Suminikum" [my spelling].
Duane


On Nov 23, 2008, at 5:31 PM, Dave Robertson wrote:

> We've discussed "Latah" on this list before; I carry the assumption  
> that
> it's Lewis & Clark's "Lar-tie-lo", said to be their name for the  
> Spokane
> Indians.  Their spelling with an "r" suggests to me a pronunciation  
> distinct
> from the Jargon word for "tooth".  So "Latah" as a CJ word = a  
> linguistic myth?
>
> --Dave
>
>
> On Sun, 23 Nov 2008 13:17:34 -0800, Scott Tyler  
> <s.tylermd at COMCAST.NET> wrote:
>
>> Good question.
>> Most locals pronounce this lay tah.
>> This is close to the Nez Perce Reservation.
>> It may be a Nez Perce word.
>> Scott
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Dave Robertson" <ddr11 at UVIC.CA>
>> To: <CHINOOK at LISTSERV.LINGUISTLIST.ORG>
>> Sent: Saturday, November 22, 2008 5:56 PM
>> Subject: Fact check: Does "Latah" (Idaho) really mean "teeth"?
>>
>>
>>> http://www.sangres.com/idaho/places/latah/
>>>
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