LINGUIST List 12.2167

Wed Sep 5 2001

Qs: "Negrito" as Lang Name, Concepts of "Semantic"

Editor for this issue: Karen Milligan <karenlinguistlist.org>

Directory

1. Larry Trask, language name 'Negrito'
2. Alan Engel, Usage of 'semantic' among researchers

For about two centuries, the term 'Negrito' has been used in English
as an (apparently vague) ethnic label for various peoples of southeast
Asia. But I am interested in the use of this term as a language name.

Voegelin and Voegelin, in their 1977 survey of the world's languages,
report 'Negrito' as an alternative name for certain Austronesian
languages of the Philippines. This use is repeated in the 1996
edition of the Ethnologue volume. But I have very occasionally
encountered this term applied as a name to various unspecified
languages of the region.

So:

Is the label 'Negrito' in respectable use among specialists today as a
label for any language or languages at all?

If so, for which language or languages?

In any case, can anybody shed any light on the former use of this term
as a language name?

And can anybody cite any examples of the earlier use of this term as a 
language name?

Please reply to me directly, and I'll post a summary to the list.


Larry Trask
COGS
University of Sussex
Brighton BN1 9QH
UK

larrytcogs.susx.ac.uk

Tel: (01273)-678693 (from UK); +44-1273-678693 (from abroad)
Fax: (01273)-671320 (from UK); +44-1273-671320 (from abroad)

I am seeking a reference that provides an explanation of the
conceptual differences between 'semantic' as it is used in "semantic
net" or "semantic categories," and 'semantic' as it is used in Liddy's
"semantic vector," "latent semantic analysis," or "semantic space."

Thanks in advance.