Conference turris::scandia

574.0. "Ethnic and Geographical Expressions" by DECTLK::VITALE () Wed Dec 21 1994 18:09

There is a "linguistics" issue you could probably help me with in Scandinavian 
languages. I'm writing a dictionary and some papers on the lexicalization of 
ethnic expressions.

I began working on this 14 years ago. I've been collecting some ethnic 
expressions such as Mexican Standoff, Dutch Courage, Chinese Firedrill, 
French Fries, Swedish Ivy, etc. 

I have a large number of these words and phrases but the number of languages
could be larger. If you or friends and colleagues who are native speakers
of Scandinavian languages can think of any, I'd love a list of these. These are 
linguistic universals - and all languages have scores of them. The criteria 
for selecting these are as follows:

	1. The expression much be figurative and not literal, e.g., 
	   China White 'heroin' is acceptable but China Sea is not.

	2. The entry can be between one word and an entire sentence.

	3. The entry must contain the name of (a) a country or continent 
	   (cities are not acceptable), (b) an ethnic group or (c) a language. 
	   Counties and ethnic groups may be older terms (e.g., Persia, 
	   Siam etc.) and languages may be dead or extinct (e.g., Dalmatian)

The following are examples of acceptable entries and the form that is used
in the dictionary. Note that they are arranged in the following order:

	1. English equivalent beginning with the ethnic term.

	2. language of origin, e.g., (Pol. = Polish, Heb. = Hebrew, etc.)
	   followed by the word or phrase (phonetics or Roman alphabet 
	   for now but eventually I'll put in the orthography itself for
	   not-Roman (e.g., Greek, Russian) or non-alphabetic languages
	3. meaning of the word or phrase as it is used in the language.

	4. any further information such as etymology of the phrase, whether
	   the phrase is still in current use or whether it's obsolete, etc.

Here are some examples: Please send examples in this format to me at the 
e-mail address above. Note that flora and fauna are acceptable, 
e.g., Tibetan Mastiff, Norway Maple. For languages which are written in
non-Roman characters or which use syllabaries or ideographs, just send the
phonetics. I have software which will allow me to type in any language - and
might use that or IPA (or both). For languages which use diacritics such as
accent marks, please use these in a way which ASCII will allow and simply
define where each mark goes via a legend appended to the list.


	Mexican Standoff (Am. Eng.) 'an impasse, a stalemate'

	Dutch Treat (Am. Eng.) a situation in which each person pays 
		his own way.'

	Scotch Organ, Play the (Brit. Eng.) - put money into a cash register.

	Chinese Wall (Pol. Chinski Mur) 'a situation or problem which is
		insurmountable.'

	Spanish Wall (Ger. Spanische Wand) - a room-divider.
		
	German Work (Heb. Avoda Yekit) - very precise, exact work.
	
	Chinese Shadows (Fr. Ombres Chinoises) - shadow puppets, making 
		designs or figures with the shadow of one's hands on a wall.

	Punic Faith (It. Fides Punica) - treachery.

	Swedish, Make Oneself (Spa. Hacerse el Sueco) - to be indifferent to 
		something; to see or hear something and then behave as if you 
		hadn't.

	Mongolian Doctor (Chi. Menggu Daifu) - a quack, someone who 
		is professionally incompetent.


NB: All such expressions won't necessarily be complimentary. However, the job 
of a linguist or lexicographer is to DESCRIBE not to PRESCRIBE a language.
Therefore, please ignore the political correctness issues and simply describe
the word or phrase as it is used whether or not it is complimentary or
pejorative.

Due to the fact that I can't monitor notesfiles very often,
aside from placing replies in the notesfile, 
please ALSO send replies DIRECTLY to me at DECTLK::VITALE or 
Internet: [email protected]. 

I appreciate the time and effort. Thank you very much.

\tony