2381: The True Name of the Bear - Revision history

1234231587678: ew

2025-12-16T04:14:50Z

180.233.125.162: Title text

2025-11-06T05:55:46Z

Title text

203.219.205.246 at 02:20, 16 June 2025

2025-06-16T02:20:16Z

172.70.215.7: /* Explanation */

2024-05-20T15:36:33Z

‎Explanation

1234231587678 at 20:37, 2 March 2024

2024-03-02T20:37:37Z

162.158.146.75 at 01:32, 23 January 2024

2024-01-23T01:32:41Z

172.71.242.207: Explained the meaning of the asterisk in *rkto-

2024-01-18T15:30:58Z

Explained the meaning of the asterisk in *rkto-

FaviFake at 09:30, 27 August 2023

2023-08-27T09:30:54Z

FaviFake at 09:27, 27 August 2023

2023-08-27T09:27:49Z

JLZ0kTC5: ?

2022-11-08T15:56:54Z

@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 ==Explanation==
-The Canadian Internet linguist [[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 Indo-European languages - notably the Germanic one - and it was replaced by euphemisms. In the Germanic branch, the euphemism may have been "the brown one," and thus the modern word "bear" (derived from Germanic "beran") would more literally translate into the color "brown" rather than the animal.
+Canadian Internet linguist [[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 Indo-European languages - notably the Germanic one - and it was replaced by euphemisms. In the Germanic branch, the euphemism may have been "the brown one," and thus the modern word "bear" (derived from Germanic "beran") would more literally translate into the color "brown" rather than the animal.
 The Indo-European word for bear is ''*h₂ŕ̥tḱos'' (given in the comic as the root *rkto-, a later form of the root) which has been inferred from modern languages that still use a word derived from it. In the comic, McCulloch applies {{w|Sound change|sound shifting}} laws to it to guess how it would have evolved in English had it not been superseded, but saying it seems to actually summon a bear, which the title text suggests has devoured McCulloch.

@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
 The Canadian Internet linguist [[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 Indo-European languages - notably the Germanic one - and it was replaced by euphemisms. In the Germanic branch, the euphemism may have been "the brown one," and thus the modern word "bear" (derived from Germanic "beran") would more literally translate into the color "brown" rather than the animal.
-The Indo-European word for bear is ''*h₂ŕ̥tḱos'' (given in the comic as the root *rkto-, a later form of the root) which has been inferred from modern languages that still use a word derived from it. In the comic, McCulloch applies {{w|Sound change|sound shifting}} laws to it to guess how it would have evolved in English had it not been superseded, but saying it seems to actually summon a bear.
+The Indo-European word for bear is ''*h₂ŕ̥tḱos'' (given in the comic as the root *rkto-, a later form of the root) which has been inferred from modern languages that still use a word derived from it. In the comic, McCulloch applies {{w|Sound change|sound shifting}} laws to it to guess how it would have evolved in English had it not been superseded, but saying it seems to actually summon a bear, which the title text suggests has devoured McCulloch.
 (The asterisk is used by linguists to mark a word that isn't attested, meaning that we have no written proof that the word existed in that specific form.)

@@ Line 12: / Line 12: @@
 The Indo-European word for bear is ''*h₂ŕ̥tḱos'' (given in the comic as the root *rkto-, a later form of the root) which has been inferred from modern languages that still use a word derived from it. In the comic, McCulloch applies {{w|Sound change|sound shifting}} laws to it to guess how it would have evolved in English had it not been superseded, but saying it seems to actually summon a bear.
-(The asterisk is used by linguists to mark a word that doesn't currently exist in a spoken language - in this case, because it's a reconstructed ancestor to modern words in a number of languages.)
+(The asterisk is used by linguists to mark a word that isn't attested, meaning that we have no written proof that the word existed in that specific form.)
-Interestingly enough, the hypothesized word “arth” is the same as the Welsh and Cornish for the word “bear.” Welsh belongs to the Celtic language family, which is one of the Indo-European branches that still uses a word derived from ''*h₂ŕ̥tḱos'', as do the Italic (Romance), Greek and Indo-Aryan (Sanskrit) branches, while Germanic, Slavic and Baltic branches abandoned it for different euphemisms. Another Indo-European language where the word for bear is very close to this extrapolation is Armenian, where it's written [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/արջ արջ] and pronounced “artch”. The comic does not explain why speakers of Welsh, Cornish, Italic, Greek, Indo-Aryan, and Armenian languages do not summon a bear every time they refer to one.{{Citation needed}}
+Interestingly enough, the hypothesized word “arth” is the same as the Welsh and Cornish for the word “bear.” Welsh belongs to the Celtic language family, which is one of the Indo-European branches that still uses a word derived from ''*h₂ŕ̥tḱos'', as do the Italic (Romance), Greek and Indo-Aryan (Sanskrit) branches, while Germanic, Slavic and Baltic branches abandoned it for different euphemisms. Another Indo-European language where the word for bear is very close to this extrapolation is Armenian, where it's written [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/արջ արջ] and pronounced “artch”. The comic does not explain why speakers of Welsh, Cornish, Romance, Greek, Indo-Aryan, and Armenian languages do not summon a bear every time they refer to one.{{Citation needed}}
 Linguists on Tumblr have observed[https://esoanem.tumblr.com/post/748473429591785472/bophtelophti-esoanem-bophtelophti] that "arth" is not actually how the Indo-European root for 'bear' would have emerged in English; "orx" or "orse" is a more likely hypothesis.

@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
 The Canadian Internet linguist [[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 Indo-European languages - notably the Germanic one - and it was replaced by euphemisms. In the Germanic branch, the euphemism may have been "the brown one," and thus the modern word "bear" (derived from Germanic "beran") would more literally translate into the color "brown" rather than the animal.
-The Indo-European word for bear is ''*h₂ŕ̥tḱos'' (given in the comic as the root *rkto-) which has been inferred from modern languages that still use a word derived from it. In the comic, McCulloch applies {{w|Sound change|sound shifting}} laws to it to guess how it would have evolved in English had it not been superseded, but saying it seems to actually summon a bear.
+The Indo-European word for bear is ''*h₂ŕ̥tḱos'' (given in the comic as the root *rkto-, a later form of the root) which has been inferred from modern languages that still use a word derived from it. In the comic, McCulloch applies {{w|Sound change|sound shifting}} laws to it to guess how it would have evolved in English had it not been superseded, but saying it seems to actually summon a bear.
 (The asterisk is used by linguists to mark a word that doesn't currently exist in a spoken language - in this case, because it's a reconstructed ancestor to modern words in a number of languages.)
 Interestingly enough, the hypothesized word “arth” is the same as the Welsh and Cornish for the word “bear.” Welsh belongs to the Celtic language family, which is one of the Indo-European branches that still uses a word derived from ''*h₂ŕ̥tḱos'', as do the Italic (Romance), Greek and Indo-Aryan (Sanskrit) branches, while Germanic, Slavic and Baltic branches abandoned it for different euphemisms. Another Indo-European language where the word for bear is very close to this extrapolation is Armenian, where it's written [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/արջ արջ] and pronounced “artch”. The comic does not explain why speakers of Welsh, Cornish, Italic, Greek, Indo-Aryan, and Armenian languages do not summon a bear every time they refer to one.{{Citation needed}}
 Use of true names appears to be [[1013: Wake Up Sheeple|highly effective in the xkcd universe, rather like a fairy tale]], and it is also {{tvtropes|IKnowYourTrueName|a common trope}} elsewhere. Some say a true name contains clear meaning of who someone or something really is. {{w|Gretchen McCulloch}} has been mentionned in [[2250: OK/okay/ok]]. In later comics, Gretchen is used again, causing annoyance in [[2421: Tower of Babel]]. Since these stories occur during biblical times or in extra-dimensional realities, it is not Gretchen, but obviously this is how linguists look in xkcd from now on.

@@ Line 16: / Line 16: @@
 Interestingly enough, the hypothesized word “arth” is the same as the Welsh and Cornish for the word “bear.” Welsh belongs to the Celtic language family, which is one of the Indo-European branches that still uses a word derived from ''*h₂ŕ̥tḱos'', as do the Italic (Romance), Greek and Indo-Aryan (Sanskrit) branches, while Germanic, Slavic and Baltic branches abandoned it for different euphemisms. Another Indo-European language where the word for bear is very close to this extrapolation is Armenian, where it's written [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/արջ արջ] and pronounced “artch”. The comic does not explain why speakers of Welsh, Cornish, Italic, Greek, Indo-Aryan, and Armenian languages do not summon a bear every time they refer to one.{{Citation needed}}
-Use of true names appears to be [[1013: Wake Up Sheeple|highly effective in the xkcd universe, rather like a fairy tale]], and it is also {{tvtropes|IKnowYourTrueName|a common trope}} elsewhere. Some say a true name contains clear meaning of who someone or something really is. In later comics, Gretchen is used again. Since these stories occur during biblical times or in extra-dimensional realities, it is not Gretchen, but obviously this is how linguists look in xkcd from now on.
+Use of true names appears to be [[1013: Wake Up Sheeple|highly effective in the xkcd universe, rather like a fairy tale]], and it is also {{tvtropes|IKnowYourTrueName|a common trope}} elsewhere. Some say a true name contains clear meaning of who someone or something really is. {{w|Gretchen McCulloch}} has been mentionned in [[2250: OK/okay/ok]]. In later comics, Gretchen is used again, causing annoyance in [[2421: Tower of Babel]]. Since these stories occur during biblical times or in extra-dimensional realities, it is not Gretchen, but obviously this is how linguists look in xkcd from now on.
 ==Transcript==

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:30, 18 January 2024
Line 11:		Line 11:

	The Indo-European root for bear is *rkto-, which has been inferred from modern languages that still use a word derived from it. In the comic, McCulloch applies {{w\|Sound change\|sound shifting}} laws to it to guess how it would have evolved in English had it not been superseded, but saying it seems to actually summon a bear.		The Indo-European root for bear is *rkto-, which has been inferred from modern languages that still use a word derived from it. In the comic, McCulloch applies {{w\|Sound change\|sound shifting}} laws to it to guess how it would have evolved in English had it not been superseded, but saying it seems to actually summon a bear.
		+
		+	(The asterisk is used by linguists to mark a word that doesn't currently exist in a spoken language - in this case, because it's a reconstructed ancestor to modern words in a number of languages.)

	Interestingly enough, the hypothesized word “arth” is the same as the Welsh and Cornish for the word “bear.” Welsh belongs to the Celtic language family, which is one of the Indo-European branches that still uses a word derived from *rkto-, as do the Italic (Romance), Greek and Indo-Aryan (Sanskrit) branches, while Germanic, Slavic and Baltic branches abandoned it for different euphemisms. Another Indo-European language where the word for bear is very close to this extrapolation is Armenian, where it's written [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/արջ արջ] and pronounced “artch”. The comic does not explain why speakers of Welsh, Cornish, Italic, Greek, Indo-Aryan, and Armenian languages do not summon a bear every time they refer to one.{{Citation needed}}		Interestingly enough, the hypothesized word “arth” is the same as the Welsh and Cornish for the word “bear.” Welsh belongs to the Celtic language family, which is one of the Indo-European branches that still uses a word derived from *rkto-, as do the Italic (Romance), Greek and Indo-Aryan (Sanskrit) branches, while Germanic, Slavic and Baltic branches abandoned it for different euphemisms. Another Indo-European language where the word for bear is very close to this extrapolation is Armenian, where it's written [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/արջ արջ] and pronounced “artch”. The comic does not explain why speakers of Welsh, Cornish, Italic, Greek, Indo-Aryan, and Armenian languages do not summon a bear every time they refer to one.{{Citation needed}}

@@ Line 14: / Line 14: @@
 Interestingly enough, the hypothesized word “arth” is the same as the Welsh and Cornish for the word “bear.” Welsh belongs to the Celtic language family, which is one of the Indo-European branches that still uses a word derived from *rkto-, as do the Italic (Romance), Greek and Indo-Aryan (Sanskrit) branches, while Germanic, Slavic and Baltic branches abandoned it for different euphemisms. Another Indo-European language where the word for bear is very close to this extrapolation is Armenian, where it's written [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/արջ արջ] and pronounced “artch”. The comic does not explain why speakers of Welsh, Cornish, Italic, Greek, Indo-Aryan, and Armenian languages do not summon a bear every time they refer to one.{{Citation needed}}
-Use of true names appears to be [[1013: Wake Up Sheeple|highly effective in the xkcd universe, rather like a fairy tale]], and it is also {{tvtropes|IKnowYourTrueName|a common trope}} elsewhere. Some say a true name contains clear meaning of who someone or something really is.
+Use of true names appears to be [[1013: Wake Up Sheeple|highly effective in the xkcd universe, rather like a fairy tale]], and it is also {{tvtropes|IKnowYourTrueName|a common trope}} elsewhere. Some say a true name contains clear meaning of who someone or something really is. In later comics, Gretchen is used again. Since these stories occur during biblical times or in extra-dimensional realities, it is not Gretchen, but obviously this is how linguists look in xkcd from now on.
 ==Transcript==
@@ Line 48: / Line 46: @@
 :Gretchen: Oh
 :Gretchen: Oh no
 {{comic discussion}}

@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
 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 Indo-European languages - notably the Germanic one - and it was replaced by euphemisms. In the Germanic branch, the euphemism may have been "the brown one," and thus the modern word "bear" (derived from Germanic "beran") would more literally translate into the color "brown" rather than the animal.
-The Indoeuropean root for bear is *rkto-, which has been inferred from modern languages that still use a word derived from it. In the comic, McCulloch applies {{w|Sound change|sound shifting}} laws to it to guess how it would have evolved in English had it not been superseded, but saying it seems to actually summon a bear.
+The Indo-European root for bear is *rkto-, which has been inferred from modern languages that still use a word derived from it. In the comic, McCulloch applies {{w|Sound change|sound shifting}} laws to it to guess how it would have evolved in English had it not been superseded, but saying it seems to actually summon a bear.
 Interestingly enough, the hypothesized word “arth” is the same as the Welsh and Cornish for the word “bear.” Welsh belongs to the Celtic language family, which is one of the Indo-European branches that still uses a word derived from *rkto-, as do the Italic (Romance), Greek and Indo-Aryan (Sanskrit) branches, while Germanic, Slavic and Baltic branches abandoned it for different euphemisms. Another Indo-European language where the word for bear is very close to this extrapolation is Armenian, where it's written [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/արջ արջ] and pronounced “artch”. The comic does not explain why speakers of Welsh, Cornish, Italic, Greek, Indo-Aryan, and Armenian languages do not summon a bear every time they refer to one.{{Citation needed}}