Tue 15 Apr 2008
Liberal
Posted by jangari under English, History, Indigenous, Kaurna, Languages, Lexicography, Linguistics, Semantics
[7] Comments
Does anyone know how something that literally translates as ‘dislike of hand’ could be paraphrasable as ‘liberal’?
In the data massaging for the Kaurna electronic dictionary that I spoke of back here, I’ve come across a term whose internal parts indeed come from the words for ‘dislike’ and ‘hand’. I’m certain it’s not a typo, but the definition given is:
Dislike of hand, i.e. liberal
Come on, folks. Put your historical lexicography hats on.
In case it helps, it was written in 1857.
<update>
Something else I just noticed. Murta is the Kaurna word for animal faeces, which has a sub-entry murtaannaitya, which is glossed as ‘European hen’.
Could this word translate literally as ‘shitter’?
</update>
April 15th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
Perhaps to do with a distaste for corporal punishment (eg smacking with the hand)? That would fit with how I understand ‘liberal’ was commonly used in 1857 (no, not from my memories, but from my reading of 19th C. literature)
April 15th, 2008 at 6:18 pm
Are you asking for solid historical data or for hand-waving? Like Doug, I can see the derivation clearly – either literally as a dislike of corporal punishment, or more metaphorically as a dislike of the ‘hand’ of control and regulation in general.
Is there a bit more context?
April 15th, 2008 at 6:31 pm
As a matter of fact there is a little more context. A related word in another source, from the same writer incidentally, is glossed as stingy, not liberal.
A little clearer now, methinks.
April 15th, 2008 at 10:15 pm
All I’m coming up with is “spare the rod, spoil the child”. Sorry; I’m a lousy lexicographer.
April 19th, 2008 at 4:56 am
What’s the actual word? I ask because in addition to the widespread /maɹa/ ‘hand’ word, there’s also a fairly widespread word /maːɹa/ or /maːɹi/ meaning ‘trouble, strife, bad’ etc. Maybe the word goes back to this one, and it’s literally ‘not troublesome’.
April 19th, 2008 at 3:18 pm
The word/phrase is marra wadli, strangely enough. So you may be onto something here. Is this a proposed proto-Pama-Nyungan thing or is it just within these Southern languages?
April 20th, 2008 at 6:32 am
I know *ma:ri from Yolngu and Warlpiri and northern Pama-Nyungan languages. The argument would need to be that the words collapsed in Kaurna. Dunno if that works sound-change-wise.