Words for 'Bird' in Eastern Indonesia
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 14033 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Gregory Forth (University of Alberta) |
| Year | 2006 |
| Volume | 26 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 177-207 |
| Publication date | 2006-09-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Ethnobiology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0278-0771 • E-ISSN: 2162-4496 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.2993/0278-0771_2006_26_177_wfbiei_2.0.co_2 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 14 |
This essay explores terms referring to ‘bird (in general)’ in eastern Indonesian languages and considers the extent to which these systematically label a life-form taxon. All belonging to the Central-Malayo-Polynesian group, the languages reveal four ways in which the general category of ‘bird’ is designated: with (1) a reflex of a Malayo-Polynesian protoform reconstructed as * manuk, (2) a descriptive phrase meaning ‘flying animal’, (3) a term originally referring to a particular kind of bird, and (4) a term apparently denoting a more general category of ‘wild creatures’. While the first pattern is exclusive to languages of Timor and the Moluccas (Esser's ‘Ambon-Timor’ group), reflexes of * manuk are also widespread in languages of central and western Flores and Sumba (Esser's ‘Bima-Sumba’ group), where they occur as a specific term for the domestic fowl ( Gallus gallus) and in compound names for a number of other ethno-ornithological folk generics. The implications of the pattern are discussed with reference to evolutionary schemes proposed by Berlin and Brown, and to a recent re-interpretation of the protoform * manuk advanced by Blust
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,06 |
| Citation span | 2008 - 2008 (1) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |