The mother tongue
- To: "Medit - Plants"
- Subject: The mother tongue
- From: W* G*
- Date: Sat, 13 Jan 2001 08:00:40 -0400
On 1/12/01 3:55 PM Cara Jackman (caramba@netconnect.com.au) wrote:
>I recently saw the Kaffir lime referred to as Caffre Lime on a fairly
>reputable and reliable local TV gardening show. Would this be their
>attempt at PCness, or closer to accuracy??
Kaffir, caffre, and other spelling variants are simply transliterations
of the Arabic word, kafir, which means infidel or heathen.
These are treacherous linguistic times. One of the more singular aspects
of the move to abandon the derogatory 'native' for pre-industrial and
pre-literate peoples of presumed inferiority has been the adoption of
'Native Americans' as the preferred name by North American Indians.
Subsequently embraced by most except the state of Indiana and small boys
who still play at cowboys and Indians.
On 1/13/01 5:36 AM GUIRAUD Chantal (chantal.guiraud@wanadoo.fr) wrote:
> I don't want to know because the latin
>names are spoken by gardeners all over the world
Would this were so.
William Glover
Nevis, West Indies
Laudator temporis acti
