from the peanut gallery

[Koontz John E]

On Mon, 19 Jul 2004, Michael Mccafferty wrote:
> So, what is the consensus on the Hochunk etymology? Up in the air?

I have seen the standard 'big voice' and 'big fish' explanations in the
literature and I assume they both have their Winnebago and other Siouan
partisans.  The 'big camp circle' explanation is, as far as I know
unpublished.  It occurs in the CSD, and I did refer to it in the draft on
the Winnebago that I was invited to submit to the pending Encyclopedia of
the Midwest, but I have no idea what will survive the editing process
there.  It appears that language has been determined to be fundamentally
confusing to those interested in the Midwest, especially languages that
don't have a Standard Average European grammar.  I know some postediting
of the historical material was anticipated.

The problem with the distribution of the 'big camp circle' etymology is
that it would only occur to a non-Winnebago, since hoo in that sense is
missing in modern Winnebago.  (At least as far as I can recall, and we've
seen what a slender reed my memory can be.)  So 'big camp circle' is a
possibility recognized only by the vanishingly small community of modern
comparative Siouanists, among whom the *ho 'camp circle' set was first
recognized.

I wonder if it might have been me who originally put together that set,
possibly looking at *h-initial forms, but it was vetted by the editors,
and it might have originated with one of them, too.  It might have been
Bob or Dick who recogized that this *ho might explain Hooc^aN'k.  The
comments are sometimes attributed.

> 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.

There some perhaps similar conundrums in Siouan names, of course:  names
with no known meaning, and names with forms not corresponding exactly with
the usual interpretations of the name.  Are these mutated names or folk
etymologies?  I couldn't say.