[Lexicog] Re: Palm trees

[Rudolph Troike]

Just a note on the label for the kinds of categorizations we are talking about:
I much prefer Ron Moe's use of "ethnosemantic" over "folk classification". The
latter seems to carry a pejorative implication, whereas the former simply
neutrally implies difference. For dictionary purposes, "ethno" signifies
"group", and Heather is right in seeking some group consensus rather than
relying just on idiosyncratic categories, "idiosemantics", if you will. Any
responsible lexicographer does not want to ossify idiosemantic categories
in a dictionary, and elevate them to a privileged status irrespective of their
representativeness for a group. "Scientific" classifications are equally
"ethnosemantic", though botanists would undoubtedly dislike the notion,
preferring to elevate their categories to a Platonic "etic" status, as
opposed to the "emic" (ethnosemantic) categories used by the rest of the world.
The evidence for this is that their supposedly fixed Platonic categories
sometimes change over time, as undoubtedly do other ethnosemantic systems.
In seeking ethnosemantic categories in any language, we are looking for
emic distinctions made by at least some representative members of a group
(the nature and fineness of emic distinctions might vary within any group
depending on the relevance to possible subgroups of specialists).

Re palms, here in southern Arizona, and in south Texas where I grew up,
several kinds of palms are cultivated, though most people probably just
refer to them as "palm trees", while recognizing the visible differences.
Just as a young oak tree, which will ultimately grow to 20 or 30 feet, but
is now only 3 feet tall, is still a "tree", so a young palm is still a "tree"
in my idiolect. However, there is a species which grows wild in south Texas
which is permanently small, usually less than 2 feet, and is called a
"palmetto". My recollection is that they would still be called "trees", as
they don't exhibit the multi-branching pattern relevant to "bushes".

   Rudy

   Rudy Troike



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