Editing 2381: The True Name of the Bear
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
− | + | {{incomplete|Created by THE BEAR WHO MUST NOT BE NAMED. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} | |
− | The | + | The linguist Gretchen McCulloch [https://twitter.com/gretchenamcc/status/1113195661275611137?lang=ca tweeted] about the theory that the word for bear became taboo in some branches of Indoeuropean languages - notably the Germanic one - and it were replaced by an euphemism like "the brown one" that lead to the English word "bear". |
− | + | Interestingly the Welsh for the word Bear is also Arth | |
− | + | ==Transcript== | |
− | + | {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} | |
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:Megan: Wow - according to the internet, we don't know the true name of the bear. | :Megan: Wow - according to the internet, we don't know the true name of the bear. | ||
:Cueball: What? | :Cueball: What? | ||
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:Megan: Apparently there was a superstition that saying its name would summon it. "Bear" and "bruin" mean "the brown one." Its actual name has been lost. | :Megan: Apparently there was a superstition that saying its name would summon it. "Bear" and "bruin" mean "the brown one." Its actual name has been lost. | ||
:Cueball: Wow. | :Cueball: Wow. | ||
:Ponytail: Gretchen, is this for real? | :Ponytail: Gretchen, is this for real? | ||
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:Gretchen: Well, sort of | :Gretchen: Well, sort of | ||
:Gretchen: The Proto-Indo-European root was *rkto- | :Gretchen: The Proto-Indo-European root was *rkto- | ||
:Gretchen: It was lost in the Germanic languages like English, but survived elsewhere, e.g. Greek "arktos" and Latin "ursus" | :Gretchen: It was lost in the Germanic languages like English, but survived elsewhere, e.g. Greek "arktos" and Latin "ursus" | ||
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:Megan: So could we figure out what the word would have been in English? | :Megan: So could we figure out what the word would have been in English? | ||
:Gretchen: Hmm. I mean, we'll never know, but given Germanic sound shifts, a reasonable guess might be "arth"? | :Gretchen: Hmm. I mean, we'll never know, but given Germanic sound shifts, a reasonable guess might be "arth"? | ||
:Ponytail: ''No!!'' | :Ponytail: ''No!!'' | ||
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:Ponytail (off-panel): ''Stop! AAAAA!'' | :Ponytail (off-panel): ''Stop! AAAAA!'' | ||
:Gretchen: What?? | :Gretchen: What?? | ||
:Ponytail (off-panel): Don't ''say'' it! | :Ponytail (off-panel): Don't ''say'' it! | ||
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:Ponytail: What have you ''done''? | :Ponytail: What have you ''done''? | ||
:Off-panel noise: <big>'''''ROAR'''''</big> | :Off-panel noise: <big>'''''ROAR'''''</big> | ||
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[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]] | [[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]] | ||
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]] | [[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]] | ||
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[[Category:Comics featuring real people]] | [[Category:Comics featuring real people]] | ||
[[Category:Language]] | [[Category:Language]] | ||
[[Category:Animals]] | [[Category:Animals]] |