[Lexicog] A prototypical blessing

[Mali Translation]

Phil,

I agree about the world view but probably we have to distinguish
between words and concepts.
Even if a word for "blessing" does not exist in Cheyenne or Nez Perce,
I would imagine the idea of "conveying or transmitting power" exists.
I contend that "blessing" as a speech act or an action is an
"empowering."
In Manding languages in West Africa an interesting semantic shift
occurred from Arabic barakat = blessing to baraka = power.

Fritz Goerling

P.S.: About "sin" I daresay that there is a transcultural definition
      as a transgression/violation of ethical norms. How these norms
      look like (like the 10 Commandments or another ethical code) and
      what constitutes a "transgression" (or "sin") can be quite
      different from culture to culture or from person to person.
      Like what is a "lie" can be quite different from culture to
      culture. Is there a prototypical "lie"?



much like Wayne suggested, this is also true for nez perce (sahaptian)
of the interior NW US.  there is no indigenous word for blessing.  it
was not until the missionaries arrive that such words were introduced
into the nez perce lexicon.  of course, with their power to create
dictionaries, words of christian worship, heavean/hell, sin, etc.,
occured in abundance.

i would suggest that what you know as "blessing" is a matter of world
view and not so much a matter of if such words exist or not.

phil cash cash (cayuse/nez perce)

On Apr 22, 2004, at 3:11 PM, Mali Translation wrote:

> Wayne,
>
> One can see "blessing" as a benediction or benefaction, as
> conveying God's beneficent power in word and deed.
> So if Cheyenne does not have a word for blessing or the
> act of blessing, does it not have a word for curse/malediction
> either?
>
> Fritz
>
>> Wayne,
>>
>> Whether one is a believer or not, the word "blessing" is widely used.
>
> I know. But Cheyenne is one of those languages which has no word for
> blessing or the act of blessing and there are no formulaic blessings
> which
> might simply not have a superordinate label.
>
>> In English and French "to bless" can be used in the following way:
>>
>> 1) God blesses a human being
>
> In Cheyenne we have used the term "to be good to someone" for this,
> but it
> is a new usage and is only understood by Cheyennes as God being good to
> someone, not necessarily as a blessing, although, of course, there is a
> semantic relationship.
>
>> 2) A human being blesses God
>
> Humans would not do this in Cheyenne, except that they can "repeatedly
> say
> God's name" which is a way of saying that someone is praising God.
>
>> 3) A human being blesses another human being
>
> Only done paralinguistically in Cheyenne, as far as I know, after 30
> years
> of vigorous lexical work.
>
>>
>> The second use is less common in modern Bible translations, where
>> "to bless God" is replaced by "to praise God."
>
> Right, as in Cheyenne
>
> Wayne
>
>> In the African
>> languages in which I have worked I have never found that a human
>> being can bless God (it does not work in German either) which
>> corresponds to the prototypical meaning of "blessing", viz.
>> "enrichment, empowerment". The inferior cannot bless the
>> superior which is perfectly biblical.
>> In arabicized African languages I often find the semitic root BRK
>> (in the concept BARAKA) for a blessing coming from God (ultimately
>> every blessing, spiritually or materially comes from God). For a
>> blessing pronounced by a human being I often find DUBA or DUGAWU
>> or another similar form transliterated from Arabic. This often
>> means "prayer", too. So a human "blessing" is a prayer or wish that
>> God may bless/enrich/empower another person.
>> As in Hebrew the root BRK can be used for the three above-mentioned
>> uses (maybe also in Arabic?), I wonder what the common thread for
>> speakers of semitic languages is. But I am also interested what
>> speakers of other languages perceive to be the central/prototypical
>> meaning of a "blessing."
>>
>> Blessings,
>>
>> Fritz Goerling
>>
>
>
>
>
>
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