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Article published In:
Journal of Historical Linguistics
Vol. 13:3 (2023) ► pp.488–517

‘Common nighthawk’ (Chordeiles minor) in Algonquian and Siouan languages

| Université du Québec à Chicoutimi

Some North American indigenous languages have names for ‘common nighthawk’ (Chordeiles minor)’, ‘robin’, and ‘bird’ that are strikingly similar phonetically and have served to advocate long-distance genetic relationships among language families. While the Algonquian proto-form for ‘nighthawk’ has a rather straightforward pedigree, this is not the case for Siouan languages. Despite their phonetic resemblance, the ornithonyms for ‘nighthawk’ in half a dozen Siouan languages are unrelated; some are mimetic innovations and others are borrowed. This article analyses how and why ornithonyms are problematic in the application of the comparative method, a reality that affects the validity of long-distance claims, and offers alternative ways to deal with this issue. While ornithonyms can be inherited and undergo all the regular sound changes (or not) like other words, they are also problematic in many respects. First, they can be onomatopoetic and imitate the cry or call of the bird in question – a feature that accounts for their cross-linguistic similarity. Second, they can undergo ad hoc mimetic reshaping or become lexically contaminated based on phonetic similarity with other ornithonyms or words with which they are associated culturally. Third and last, they can be borrowed internally or externally. However, despite these comparative pitfalls (i.e., that some phonetically similar forms in a language family are not cognates), the analysis shows that our understanding of ornithological nomenclature can be enhanced by considering elements of ornithology, mythology, ethnographic knowledge, sayings, and puns pertaining to birds.

Keywords: ornithonyms, comparative method, Algonquian, Siouan, onomatopoeia
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.The problems with ornithonyms and large-scale reconstruction
  • 3.Algonquian languages
    • 3.1Eastern, Central, and Plains Algonquian Languages
    • 3.2Core Central Algonquian languages
  • 4.Siouan languages
    • 4.1Mandan, Dakotan, and Hoocąk
    • 4.2Dhegihan languages
  • 5.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgments
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 21 February 2023
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https://doi.org/10.1075/jhl.22033.col
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