As ice thaws, Arctic peoples at a loss for words (fwd)

[Matthew Ward]

...well, for the Arctic languages that are still used in everyday life
(many are), then new words will be created...  but not necessarily from
native roots.  The article below gives examples of word-coining ("bird
with red breast," which is no different from "blackbird" or other
descriptive terms), but also gives examples of borrowing (Saami
borrowing "elg," the Norwegian word for "Elk").  Both are very common
and equally legitimate forms of word-creation.  I do understand,
however, that the speakers of many indigenous languages resist borrowing
words from the dominant languages of their country or region.  There may
be good reasons for that, but, regardless,  a certain amount of
word-borrowing will continue...  as long as the language remains living,
that is.

I do find that, quite often, when you hear the statement "such and such
a word doesn't exist in X language," particularly if you are talking
about an object or concept that is new to the speakers of that language,
the word in question does in fact exist...  it's just that it's a recent
loanword, a recent coinage, a poorly-known term, that there is not yet
any agreement on which word to use, or some combination of the above.
 Of course, this is also true of English and other powerful languages,
it's just that, English-speakers can borrow a foreign word and see it as
a legitimate English word, while, for speakers of many other languages,
if they use an word borrowed from English, it is often seen as "speaking
English," even if the word has been fully nativized.

BTW, I also think it's worth noting that, while the Arctic peoples of
Alaska and Canada  may in fact use English (rather than borrowed English
words in their own languages) to discuss these new objects, all the
other Arctic peoples do not live in English-dominant societies, and, as
such, if they do discuss new objects in languages other than their
traditional languages, they will be using Danish, Norwegian, Swedish,
Finnish, Russian, etc., and are also much more likely to borrow words
from those languages than from English.

MiaKalish at LFP wrote:

>I think this is just one dimension of the Language Extension Issue. Computer
>technology is the one I am most familiar with. Living languages just
>naturally create words, like x-ray, photomicrograph, and carbuerator. SUV.
>Railroad. AK-47. For others, the creation of just one new word requires
>weeks of meetings. Possibly, the new word will never happen in that
>language, and people will use English.
>
>Mia
>
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "phil cash cash" <cashcash at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU>
>To: <ILAT at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU>
>Sent: Sunday, November 21, 2004 10:44 AM
>Subject: spam: As ice thaws, Arctic peoples at a loss for words (fwd)
>
>
>As ice thaws, Arctic peoples at a loss for words
>
>By Alister Doyle
>http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_20-11-2004_pg4_8
>
>WHAT are the words used by indigenous peoples in the Arctic for
>Â~ShornetÂ~T, Â~SrobinÂ~T, Â~SelkÂ~T, Â~Sbarn owlÂ~T or Â~SsalmonÂ~T? If you donÂ~Rt know,
>youÂ~Rre not alone.
>
>Many indigenous languages have no words for legions of new animals,
>insects and plants advancing north as global warming thaws the polar
>ice and lets forests creep over tundra.
>
>Â~SWe canÂ~Rt even describe what weÂ~Rre seeing,Â~T said Sheila Watt-Cloutier,
>chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference which says it represents
>155,000 people in Canada, Alaska, Greenland and Russia.
>
>In the Inuit language Inuktitut, robins are known just as the Â~Sbird with
>the red breastÂ~T, she said. Inuit hunters in north Canada recently saw
>some ducks but have not figured out what species they were, in
>Inuktitut or any other language.
>
>An eight-nation report this month says the Arctic is warming twice as
>fast as the rest of the planet and that the North Pole could be
>ice-free in northern hemisphere summer by 2100, threatening indigenous
>cultures and perhaps wiping out creatures like polar bears. The report,
>by 250 scientists and funded by the United States, Canada, Russia,
>Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark and Iceland, puts most of the blame on
>a build-up of heat-trapping gases from human use of fossil fuels like
>coal and oil.
>
>The thaw may have some positive spin-offs for people, for instance by
>making chill Arctic seas more habitable for cod or herring or by
>shifting agricultural lands and forestry north. But on land, more and
>more species will be cramming into an ever-narrowing strip bounded to
>the north by the Arctic Ocean, threatening to destroy fragile Arctic
>ecosystems from mosses to Arctic foxes or snowy owls.
>
>Elk shock: In Arctic Europe, birch trees are gaining ground and Saami
>reindeer herders are seeing roe deer or even elk, a forest-dwelling
>cousin of moose, on former lichen pastures.
>
>Â~SI know about 1,200 words for reindeer- we classify them by age, sex,
>colour, antlers,Â~T said Nils Isak Eira, who manages a herd of 2,000
>reindeer in north Norway.
>
>Â~SI know just one word for elk - Â~QsarvvaÂ~R,Â~T said 50-year-old Eira. Â~SBut
>the animals are so unusual that many Saami use the Norwegian word
>Â~QelgÂ~R. When I was a child it was like a mythical creature.Â~T
>
>Thrushes have been spotted in Saami areas of the Arctic in winter,
>apparently too lazy to bother migrating south. Foreign ministers from
>the eight Arctic countries are due to meet in Reykjavik on Nov. 24 but
>are sharply divided about what to do. The United States is most opposed
>to any drastic new action.
>
>The US is the only country among the eight to reject the 127-nation
>Kyoto protocol meant to cap emissions of greenhouse gases. President
>George W Bush says the UN pact would cost too much and unfairly
>excludes developing states.
>
>In some more southerly areas of the Arctic, like CanadaÂ~Rs Hudson Bay,
>receding ice means polar bears are already struggling. The bearsÂ~R main
>trick is to pounce when seals surface to breathe through holes in the
>ice. The Arctic report says polar bears Â~Sare unlikely to survive as a
>species if there is a complete loss of summer-ice coverÂ~T. Restricted to
>land, polar bears would have to compete with better-adapted grizzly or
>brown bears. Â~SThe outlook for polar bears is stark. My grandson will
>lose the culture I had as a child,Â~T said Watt-Cloutier, referring to
>Inuit hunting cultures based on catching seals, bears or whales.
>
>Salman, owls: Around the Arctic, salmon are swimming into more northerly
>waters, hornets are buzzing north and barn owls are flying to regions
>where indigenous people have never even seen a barn.
>
>Watt-Cloutier said indigenous peoples lacked well-known words for all of
>them.
>
>The Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA) report says that the region
>is set to warm by 4-7 degrees centigrade (7-13 degrees Fahrenheit) by
>2100, twice the rate of the rest of the globe. The Arctic warms fast
>partly because dark ground and water, once uncovered, soaks up much
>more heat than snow and ice.
>
>Â~SOverall, forests are likely to move north and displace tundra,Â~T said
>Terry Callaghan, a professor of Arctic ecology at the University of
>Lund, Sweden. Â~SThat will bring more species - birds that nest in trees,
>beetles that live in bark, fungiÂ~T.
>
>The lack of words to describe newcomers does not stop at animals and
>plants. Â~SWords like Â~QthunderstormÂ~R donÂ~Rt exist because they are
>phenomena indigenous peoples have never known,Â~T said Robert Corell,
>chair of the ACIA study. reuters
>
>
>