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 Canadian Internet linguist {{w|Gretchen McCulloch}} [https://twitter.com/gretchenamcc/status/1113195661275611137 tweeted] about [https://www.charlierussellbears.com/LinguisticArchaeology.html the theory] that the word for bear became taboo in some branches of Indoeuropean languages - notably the Germanic one - and it was replaced by euphemisms. In the Germanic branch, the euphemism may have been like "the brown one" and words for bear derive from words for "brown". |
− | + | The Indoeuropean root for bears is *rkto-, which has been inferred from languages that use words derived from it. In the comic, Gretchen McCulloch applies {{w|Sound change|sound shifting}} laws to it to guess how it would have evolved into English, but pronouncing it seems to actually summon a bear, showing that abandoning that word was a fairly wise move for the forefathers of German languages speakers. | |
− | Interestingly enough, the hypothesized word | + | Interestingly enough, the hypothesized word Arth is the same as the Welsh for the word bear. Welsh belongs to the Celtic language family, which is one of the Indoeuropean branches that still uses a word derived from *rkto-, as the Italic (Romance), Greek and Indoarian (Sanscrit) branches do, while Germanic, Slavic and Baltic branches abandoned it for different euphemisms. |
− | + | Use of True Names appears to be highly effective in the Xkcd universe as evidenced in the previous comic [[1013: Wake Up Sheeple]] | |
− | + | ==Transcript== | |
+ | {{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} | ||
− | + | :[Megan is looking down at her phone.] | |
− | :[Megan | ||
: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? | ||
− | :[Gretchen | + | :[Gretchen comes on-panel.] |
: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. | ||
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: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" | ||
− | :[Back to the second panel, with Megan holding her phone down, Ponytail with her hands in the air, and Gretchen with | + | :[Back to the second panel, with Megan holding her phone down, Ponytail with her hands in the air, and Gretchen with his hand on his chin.] |
: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"? | ||
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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]] |