Caddo ethnic terms

[Anthony Grant]

Dear all:

Herewith some further notes.

Anthony
----- Original Message -----
From: Koontz John E <John.Koontz at colorado.edu>
To: Anthony Grant <anthony.grant3 at btinternet.com>
Cc: <siouan at lists.colorado.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, July 30, 2002 3:58 PM
Subject: Re: Caddo ethnic terms

Following John Koontz' posting:


> Given the prevalence of something like kanush for 'Frenchman' in the Texas
> Plains area and the difficulty in the terminological and contract
> chronology of getting from from Mexicanos for all Euroamericans but
> primarily (presumably) the Spanish in Mexico and then primarily the
> French, and finally just the French, I wonder if kanush doesn't have some
> etymology other than Mexicanos?

If it does, I can't think what it would be.  At least in Texas there were
Spanish-speaking people responsible to Mexico (for instance people attached
to Franciscan missions) before there were francophones, so that the first
whites that many Natives would have met would have been 'Mexicans'm, be they
Hispanic, Tlaxcaltecs, or whatever.  I don't know too well how things would
have been in Lousiana, although the number of early loans in languages of
the Gulf which are from Spanish exceeds in number and spread those which
come from French.    Even if they came via Mobilian, Mobilian had to get
them from somewhere.
>
> As far as alternative suggestions.  I don't think Canadians works any
> better, for reasons comparable to the problems with Mexicanos (too late,
> not quite on target).  It's also a poor fit after the first syllable.
>
I agree.  Couldn't be 'Cadiens?, perhaps?  Just a suggestion (and not one I
believe in much).

> What I do wonder about, now that I think about it, is the s^aglas^a family
> of terms, though probably not via this Dakotan version.  In other words,
> maybe the term originally was something like zakanas^, and lost its first
> syllable.  I think zakanas^ or something like it is found in some
> Algonquian languages.

In Oklahoma Ottawa zhaagnassh (however spelt) is THE word for white man.  It
occurs in several other Alg. languages which restruicted meanings, and also
in early records in some Chiwere and Dhegiha languages.

A derivation of kanush from zakanash is a bit farfetched IMHO, givemn that
the first vowel in the first form is long in some languages whereas the
second /a/ in the second form is a svarabhakti vowel, though one never
knows.

  In this case we would be dealing with a term for
> the English (originally of French origin) as a generic term for
> Euroamericans getting specialized for the French presumably during the
> period of French (and later Spanish) control of the Louisiana Territory?
> The colonial French continued to handle much of the actual contact and
> trading in Louisiana during the period of Spanish control.
>
Indeed the French role in much of this area (not just Louisiana) lasted long
after anglophones had political control of the region.

Anthony

> JEK
>