request for subtag for Elfdalian

Doug Ewell doug at ewellic.org
Tue Mar 1 22:31:42 CET 2016


Re-sending since I can't find it in the gmail archive. 

Mats Blakstad wrote:

> I didn't say that the name [Elfdalian] is offensive, I just talked
> about the awkward principle that we have to use the English names
> mostly used today forever.

I don't remember anyone saying the name chosen today could never be
changed. Which message are you referring to?

What I said was the name should reflect whatever Ethnologue uses.
Ethnologue has replaced names before, particularly those that are shown
to be offensive or pejorative, and in that case it would make sense for
us to consider revising the Description field in the Registry.

> When I submitted subtag request for Barlavento the name in the
> application form was simply respected.

While the Portuguese adjectives "barlavento" and "sotavento" translate
to "windward" and "leeward" in English, the two island groups in Cabo
Verde, and the dialect groups of Kabuverdianu named for them, are
literally named Barlavento and Sotavento. Those are the names used by
speakers of many languages other than Portuguese -- and those are the
names used in the Ethnologue page on Kabuverdianu. Anything else would
have amounted to us making up new names.

--
Doug Ewell | http://ewellic.org | Thornton, CO 🇺🇸



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