LINGUIST List 14.2456

Tue Sep 16 2003

Media: Des Moines Register: Origin of "Des Moines"

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

Directory

1. Karen Chung, DMRegister: Origin of "Des Moines"

 The 9/14/2003 issue of the Des Moines Register online has an
interesting piece on the possibly scatological origin of the city name
"Des Moines":

 Is 'Des Moines' just some dirty joke?
 Oh, poo! Our capital's name seems to stem from rival potty mouths.
 By Mary Challender

 The opening paragraphs:

 A linguist specializing in the extinct Miami-Illinois language
says he's come across a funny, 330-year-old story that gives "Des
Moines" new meaning.
	And - chamber of commerce-types might want to brace themselves - it
appears we've been punked.
 The article mentions in passing the controversy regarding the
origin of "Chicago".

 The URL:

http://www.dmregister.com/news/stories/c4788998/22247528.html

 Thanks to Laura Lawless of the French About.com site for featuring
this article in her 9/17/03 newsletter.


 Karen Steffen Chung
 http://ccms.ntu.edu.tw/~karchung/
 http://www.topica.com/lists/phonetics/