Re: english words absorbed into Asian languages during WW2

Peter T. Daniels wrote:
>
> Seán O'Leathlóbhair wrote:
>
> > The common meaning of "bundok" is hill or mountain but it is also used
> > when I would say: "The middle of nowhere". The Filipinos that I have
> > asked do not regard the American usage as conflicting with their usage,
> > just more restricted. If you heard an English speaker say: "He is from
> > the hills", would you not interpret as being similar to: "from the
> > middle of nowhere / boondocks".
>
> No. I'd think it referred literally to that rolling higher ground over
> there, or else to a cultural group of "hillbillies."
> --
> Peter T. Daniels grammatim@xxxxxxx

I think "middle of nowhere" is a somewhat misleading gloss. Better
"rough country; jungle; an isolated or wild region" (OED), or "remote
places, rural regions" (Chapman). Relative to where most people live,
the mountains are uncultivated, unpopulated, uncivilized and difficult
of access. It is no accident that "hillbillies" live there. Of course,
to a big-city person such as yourself, such places are "nowhere", or
"I-don't-know-where". And of course the meaning is quite capable of
broadening: if the words of the 1965 pop song "Down in the boondocks"
reflect actual usage, it could just refer to the wrong side of town.

Ross Clark
.

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