Adding variant subtags 'aluku' and 'nduyka' and 'pamaka' for dialects

Kent Karlsson kent.karlsson14 at comhem.se
Sun Aug 23 22:34:02 CEST 2009


Den 2009-08-23 22.09, skrev "Doug Ewell" <doug at ewellic.org>:

>>> a little bit outfashioned these last decades because they actually
>>> are more ethnies names than language names. "Bushi nenge tongo",
>>> literally "the language [tongue] of the bush negroes" (short:
>>> "Nenge"), is the way those people would refer to what they would
>>> agree they are all having in common.
>>
>> One possible worry here is that this designation **may** be considered
>> derogative. Not that I know that it is. I'm just worried that it might
>> be.
>>
>> Ethnologue lists:
>> Alternate?names
>> ?? Aukaans, ?Djoeka? , ?Djuka? , Ndjuk?, Ndyuka, Njuk?, Okanisi
>> Even though ISO 639-3 lists only Aukan.
>>
>> Ethnologue also comments: "Spelling of Ndyuka without the initial
>> nasal is considered derogatory." (this is also indicated by the quote
>> marks for these entries in the alternate names list quoted above).
>
>Pascal said "Bushi nenge tongo" or "Nenge" were the names used by the
>speakers themselves.  And he did not propose using the spelling "Djoeka"
>or "Djuka," which are the ones called out by Ethnologue as being
>derogatory.  So I'm not sure where the concerns about "derogatory" come
>from.  The current English-language disfavor for the word "negroes"
>should be completely irrelevant here.

But the suggested name is not given by Ethnologue at all. And given the
example of Djuka/Ndjuka, I would not be surprised if (for instance)
the presence/absence of h in Bushi/Busi also could make the switch
between ok and derogative. I would tread very carefully.

Further, Pascal did NOT say that "Bushi nenge tongo" or "Nenge" were
the names used by the speakers themselves. He wrote: "... would refer to
what they would agree they are all having in common". Lots of "would"
there. And even if, with a big if, they call it, or might call it,
that way informally, they might not want to have it named that way in
any official manner (like the LSR). Again, I would tread very carefully.

I have seen seemingly reasonable subtags proposed to this list being
turned down since they were considered derogatory by some.

    /kent k




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