[Lexicog] Digest Number 288

[Kees van Kolmeschate]

--- In lexicographylist at yahoogroups.com, Claire Bowern <bowern at r...>
wrote:
> ... and I've heard people talk about "Christians and Catholics" as
separate categories. >
> Claire

These over-generalizations are (or maybe were, in view of the
declining number of church-goers) common too in the Netherlands,
which is localized pretty close to the origins of reformation.
For instance in the names of political parties as "Christelijk
Democratische Unie" (~ confessing Dutch Reformed) and "Katholieke
VolksPartij" (~Roman Catholic).

Some 40 years ago I noticed a strange asymmetry in usage of this
terminology, in that in Protestant circles people tried to
give "Catholic" the wider meaning that it originally had and tried to
make it applicable not exclusively to Roman Catholics, while in Roman
Catholic circles "Christian" continued to be used as "non-Catholic".

Another oddity is that, though most people in Holland
pronounce "Christ-" as [Krist-], (which accounts well for the form
with metathesis "Kerst" as in "Kerstmis" (Xmas).), some churches to
the right of the mainstream Dutch Reformed Church prefer a
pronounciatiation with spirant "kh" [Xrist-].

Times change, and both political parties I mentioned above merged in
1980, together with another party of Reformed signature, because of
declining number of voters, to form the "Christen-Democratisch Appel".

gegroet, Kees.






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