FW: [SEELANGS] pronun. of

[Evgeny Steiner]

Here is my two yen:
There was a good print artist of Finnish origin, Clifton Karhu. He died last year in Japan where he spent most of his life. So in some cases this word was evidently not a taboo. 
In Japanese, btw, the corresponding word is 'kuma' 熊 - which is possibly easier to utter than the Russian one.

ES

-----Original Message-----
From: Andrew Jameson <a.jameson2 at DSL.PIPEX.COM>
To: SEELANGS at BAMA.UA.EDU
Date: Mon, 3 Mar 2008 15:43:52 -0000
Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] FW: [SEELANGS] pronun. of "Medvedev" (cont.)

One of my students at Lancaster Uni (UK) was called Ulla Kontio. She
explained that her surname was the Finnish taboo name for bear. Hunters had
to use kontio for bear instead of the real Finnish word, which is karhu, or
else the bear would hear them and come. (that's my recollection, sorry if
it's inaccurate.)
Andrew Jameson, Malvern, UK

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Use your web browser to search the archives, control your subscription
  options, and more.  Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web Interface at:
                    http://seelangs.home.comcast.net/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------