Re: [tied] "Niggers of India"

----- Original Message -----
From: "george knysh" <gknysh@...>
To: <cybalist@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, December 15, 2005 6:00 PM
Subject: Re: [tied] "Niggers of India"


>
>
> --- Patrick Ryan <proto-language@...> wrote:
>
> > What this obviously refers to is the frightening
> > reddish-streaked eyeballs
> > of many native Africans. The first time I saw this,
> > I thought the poor man
> > was terminally pickled in alcohol.
>
> ****GK: How inobservant of me... I'll have to have a
> closer look at some of my students (:=)))*****
> >
> > Now, what was more 'evident'? His frightening eyes?
> > or his coal-black skin?
>
> ****GK: At least the Latins finally got it right,
> didn't they? Since "aethiops" soon became the
> antithesis of "albus". Curious how both "lockless" re
> "niger" and "reddish-streaked eyeballs" re "aethiops"
> seem to have totally disappeared as`alternate
> meanings. BTW I gather you don't favour a Semitic
> explanation of 'Ethiopian'?*****

***
Patrick:

Well, 'bare-neck' and 'fire-eye' are really nicknames, which frequently have
a short life.

Would most people today think of 'red-eye' as inconveniently timed
transportation or concrete evidence of (over)indulgence?

As far as Aithíops is concerned, does the Greek etymology not persuade you?
It seems fairly regular even if it is wrong. Of course, we can always be
dealing with Volksetymologie.

If I called you 'discriminating', you would be insulted today. 15 years ago,
you would have been flattered.

Actually, the Romans still had it a bit wrong. Caucasians are not really a
'white' race at all. The Native Americans had it right: we are 'pale-faces';
and the proper PIE term for that is *a[:]r-(y-). The returning (IIr endowed)
Indians were 'pale' to their stay-at-home cousins but far beyond the pale to
Caucasians and Northern Europeans.

A really 'white' person is a dead person.

*a[:]l-, in my opinion, describes the color of foam on water, which really
is 'white'; -*bh- forms animal names. So how appropriate is it to call
Caucasian humans /albus/? Regardless of our swanish necks and preening
self-importance.

Black people are, in PIE, properly *mer-, fire-eyes or no.

Do you want Moor?

***