birding-aus

re: whats in a name

To: Birding Aus <>
Subject: re: whats in a name
From: Lawrie Conole <>
Date: Fri, 30 Nov 2007 19:41:18 +1100
Andrew Taylor wrote:

I don't understand how you can tell from Markgraf's rendering of words
in Latin what language his informant(s) spoke.
  
Well Portuguese is a form of vulgar Latin ... but in any case his "jacana" is otherwise coincidentally identical in form to the Portuguese rendering of the Tupi-Guarani word jaçanã, except that the cedilha and nasal a were lost in unaccented Latin. 

If he had tried rendering it phonetically into Latin, jacana wouldn't work (c in his time would have been pronounced like k - in modern Anglicised Latin it can be like s) - maybe jasana/yasana?  zasana? chasana?

L.

-- 

Lawrie Conole
28 Reid St
Northcote, Victoria 3070
Australia

0419 588 993
lconole[at]gmail.com
<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>
Admin

The University of NSW School of Computer and Engineering takes no responsibility for the contents of this archive. It is purely a compilation of material sent by many people to the birding-aus mailing list. It has not been checked for accuracy nor its content verified in any way. If you wish to get material removed from the archive or have other queries about the archive e-mail Andrew Taylor at this address: andrewt@cse.unsw.EDU.AU