Newsgroups: sci.lang
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From: carrg@tcd.ie (Gavin Carr)
Subject: Re: Protoworld: tank = liquid container
Message-ID: <D8GLDK.I93@news.tcd.ie>
Sender: usenet@news.tcd.ie (TCD News System )
Organization: University of Dublin, Trinity College
References: <3otjap$sfo@news.ccit.arizona.edu>
Date: Fri, 12 May 1995 09:36:55 GMT
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In <3otjap$sfo@news.ccit.arizona.edu> hlu@helium.gas.uug.arizona.edu (Hung J Lu) writes:

>To the "grand masters" in the ultimate quest for the primordial 
>language: has this term already been discussed?

>English: tank
>Spanish: tanque
>Mandarin: tong3 (pail,bucket)
>Hokkien: thang2 (pail,bucket)

>humbly,

>-- Ekki

  I don't know about any of these but in "A Guide to the Languages of the World"
Merrit Ruhlen gives about 15 such global etymologies and mentions that Bengtson
proposed 40 or 50 others in an unpublished manuscript. Ever since I read that 
I've been dying to get my hands on Bengtson's work but I think it still hasn't 
been published. Does anyone know if Bengtson's full list has been published 
anywhere?
