Re: Polynesian and South American place names

From: benlizross (benlizro_at_ihug.co.nz)
Date: 08/29/04 

Date: Sun, 29 Aug 2004 14:10:06 +1200

benlizross wrote:
>
> Philip Deitiker wrote:
> >
> > Jacques Guy <jguy@alphalink.com.au> says in
> > news:412EF30E.4D16@alphalink.com.au:
> >
> > > "mama-san"? So there you are. Rant positive.
> >
> > I would urge some caution careful in rushing to judgement in
> > this specific regard.
>
> I would agree with that general principle. In fact I would hope that
> whoever is making up this story might have looked to see whether local
> languages had any light to shed on these place names before rushing off
> to judge them half-Japanese.
>
> > Taseko means fast-flowing-lake in Japanese,
>
> "fast flowing" is an odd thing to call a lake in any language
> and as Jacques has been pointing out, ko isn't even a native Japanese
> word
>
> it runs into the
> > river that comes from Chil-ko which in Japanese would be
> > something like blood lake
>
> provided you ignore the -l-
>
> >or lake of death.
>
> (that would be shi, I think)
> ...or "lake of a thousand"or "earth lake" or ....why not?

But in fact it's part of the name of the local people: Chilcotin, or
nowadays Tsilhqot'in, official translation "people of the blue water".
Unless you look at the other web site, where it means "ochre river
people". According to the Akriggs, the -tin is the "people" suffix, -ko-
means water or stream, and Chilco has been variously translated as "warm
water" or "young man's river". Any of those etymologies would be just as
good as the imported Japanese kind, if you ask me.

>
> Enchiniko "[one]-
> > two"-lake.
>
> if it were more like ichi-ni (still more Japanized Chinese words)
>
> > Naniko "What-what"-lake. And many more.

I think this would be Nanika.

Oh, here are some more local place names: Nechako "big river", Chilako
"beaver hand river"...

These are all Athabaskan languages we're talking about. Now if you would
just forget the place names stuff and focus on Athabaskan "ko" meaning
water, and probably Rilly Old Chinese "ko" or "ku" or something meaning
"lake", then you would have taken the first step towards
Dene-Sino-Caucasian!

Ross Clark
 
> Just one "what", I think. And there's probably a "why the *** not?"
> lake in there if you keep looking.
>
> Phil, is this your own theory from something you noticed on your last
> fishing trip, or are you quoting somebody else?
>
> Ross Clark
>
> > See if you can find the locations of these lakes.
> >
> > --
> > Philip
> > - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
> > Mol. Anth. Group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DNAanthro/
> > Mol. Evol. Hominids http://home.att.net/~DNAPaleoAnth/
> > Evol. of Xchrom.
> > http://home.att.net/~DNAPaleoAnth/xlinked.htm
> > Pal. Anth. Group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Paleoanthro/
> > Sci. Arch. Aux
> > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sciarchauxilliary/