"There are countless horrible things happening all over the world and horrible people prospering, but we must never allow them to disturb our equanimity or deflect us from our sacred duty to sabotage and annoy them whenever possible." -Auberon Waugh
Saturday, January 25, 2025
Why not compromise?
Call it Paco Peak (a phonetic spelling of Pok-Ho, the tribe of which I have the honor to be chief; my tribal name, as I believe I've mentioned in the past, is Steals Other Men's Horses).
Advocates claim that calling it Mt. McKinley is colonialism and that calling it Mt. Denali pays homage to tribal peoples, but either one is in use only because the name sounded good to Americans. America is full of real or fake Indian names that the settlers chose to use.
This is very true; I was raised in the Pacific Northwest, where Indian names for cities, places, and geographic features abound. Often, those names are anglicized versions of the original word.
For that matter, there are multiple names that are French in origin, but sound nothing like the original. I was FIRMLY corrected when I used what I thought was the correct pronunciation. And some of those names are hilarious, thanks to the bawdy sense of humor the French trappers had.
I don't much see concern about insulting the French.
I must say I was not aware of the etymology for "Denali" ... which is more about marketing than respecting native tribes.
My favorite French-ish name is the town of Pee Ell. Which looks as though it must be from the letter P and L, right?
Nope. One of the early Europeans in the area was a French trapper named Pierre, and "Pee Ell" was the closest the local Indians could get to pronouncing his name.
We have people here in WA who make a major point of calling Mt. Rainier "Tahoma" because it's the "real" name.
Oh really? It's real because one group of people called it that, but Rainier is somehow false? This is an example of the left's fascination with sympathetic magic, the control of physical things by manipulating the language.
Advocates claim that calling it Mt. McKinley is colonialism and that calling it Mt. Denali pays homage to tribal peoples, but either one is in use only because the name sounded good to Americans. America is full of real or fake Indian names that the settlers chose to use.
ReplyDeleteThis is very true; I was raised in the Pacific Northwest, where Indian names for cities, places, and geographic features abound. Often, those names are anglicized versions of the original word.
For that matter, there are multiple names that are French in origin, but sound nothing like the original. I was FIRMLY corrected when I used what I thought was the correct pronunciation. And some of those names are hilarious, thanks to the bawdy sense of humor the French trappers had.
I don't much see concern about insulting the French.
I must say I was not aware of the etymology for "Denali" ... which is more about marketing than respecting native tribes.
My favorite French-ish name is the town of Pee Ell. Which looks as though it must be from the letter P and L, right?
DeleteNope. One of the early Europeans in the area was a French trapper named Pierre, and "Pee Ell" was the closest the local Indians could get to pronouncing his name.
Jackson Hole, WY, has two French names that I find hilarious:
DeleteThe Grand Tetons are generally believed to have originated from the original French, which was "The Big Tit".
And then there's the Gros Ventre River, which enters the Snake in the valley, which means "big belly", or (more politely) "paunch".
And then in CO is the Picketwire River. It's even mentioned in the film True Grit.
DeleteReal name: Purgatoire.
We have people here in WA who make a major point of calling Mt. Rainier "Tahoma" because it's the "real" name.
ReplyDeleteOh really? It's real because one group of people called it that, but Rainier is somehow false? This is an example of the left's fascination with sympathetic magic, the control of physical things by manipulating the language.