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Stalking the Wild Pigeon: Diffusion of a Word for 'Pigeon' on the Northwest Coast
Academic Work
In the spring of 1982, while consulting the vocabulary section of Leo J. Frachtenberg's Lower Umpqua Texts (1914:136), I noticed that the Lower Umpqua word for 'pigeon,' hamuEm [hamu'?m], closely resembled the Lummi (Coast Salish) word which I had recorded as /həm?u/. My initial response was - what a fine example of an accidental sound-meaning resemblance between two unrelated languages.
Later, out of curiosity I checked the word for 'pigeon' in three languages in the vicinity of Lower Umpqua: in Alsea, I found [ha?mi?]; in both Hanis Coos and Miluk Coos I found [hE'mu]. Intrigued by these additional findings I pursued my search for 'pigeon' words in languages to the north of the Alsea and to the south of the Coos. The results of my investigation are presented in 2.
Later, out of curiosity I checked the word for 'pigeon' in three languages in the vicinity of Lower Umpqua: in Alsea, I found [ha?mi?]; in both Hanis Coos and Miluk Coos I found [hE'mu]. Intrigued by these additional findings I pursued my search for 'pigeon' words in languages to the north of the Alsea and to the south of the Coos. The results of my investigation are presented in 2.
AW.00119
1985
Language and Linguistics
UBC Working Papers in Linguistics Press
International Conference on Salish and Neighbouring Languages, 20, 337-346
International Conference on Salish and Neighbouring Languages, 20, 337-346
pigeon, Lummi, Hanis Coos, Miluk Coos
Working Papers
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