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From: iandale@superior.carleton.ca (Ian Dale)
Subject: Re: Most Internation Written Word
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Date: Wed, 8 Feb 1995 16:42:09 GMT
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Tim Behrend (asi_beh@ccnov2.auckland.ac.nz) wrote:

: Mango, from Malay mangga, 

Or perhaps we should say from Tamil, where 'maankaay' (using a
transliteration here, given that Tamil has its own writing system and
so wouldn't appear to fit into Mr. Tilque's schema), means literally
"mango vegetable" and refers to the unripe fruit, used in some of the
same ways as other vegetables, 'maampaRam' (R=retroflex r) means
literally "mango fruit" (what most of us would call a "mango", I
suppose), and 'maamaram' means "mango tree".   I think that the
'maa(n)' part, although it obviously sets mango vegetables, fruits
and trees apart from other vegetables, fruits and trees, is scarcely
used on its own.

: I would
: suspect, however, that in SE Asia where this fruit is a native, each
: regional language would have a different word for it.

Especially when they are related languages and so have cognate words
descended from some earlier state of linguistic affairs, as is the
case with a good many Dravidian languages. To be sure, these wouldn't
be close enough to suit Mr. Tilque, I suppose, even if it weren't the
case that each of the major languages of the family has its own
writing system.

: --Tim Behrend 
