from the peanut gallery

[R. Rankin]

I'd have to admit defeat here and say that it's "up in the air" from a
scientific point of view.  The definition preferred by the tribal members should
be taken into consideration, but such things are nearly always very susceptible
to folk etymology.

If an ethnonym resembles some sort of attractive phrasal analysis, it's always
open to change, since the layman, when thinking of language, always prefers
semantics over grammar or phonology.

I'm reminded of the Kaw (or at least Mrs. Rowe's) analysis of Potawatomi, namely
/bado'wadoNbe/, which is obviously based on either the Potawatomi or the English
pronunciation.  She felt it should mean "they're watching the hills"  <  bado'
'hill' +  wa-doNbe '3rd person/watch them'.  I guess ethnonyms should just be
classified as poor retainers of phonological regularity because of their
tendency toward folk reanalysis.

Bob

----- Original Message -----
From: "Michael Mccafferty" <mmccaffe at indiana.edu>
To: <siouan at lists.colorado.edu>
Sent: Monday, July 19, 2004 7:59 AM
Subject: from the peanut gallery


>
> So, what is the consensus on the Hochunk etymology? Up in the air?
>
>
> Sometimes I wonder if these old ethnonyms can mutate slightly for
> some unknown reason(s). Sorta reminds me of Ojibwe /pooteewaataamii/, the
> name for the Potawatomi. Because of vowels length problems that term has
> nothing to do with "making a fire". Nevertheless, it's hard to imagine it
> is not really related.
>
> Michael
>
>