LINGUIST List 17.1952

Tue Jul 04 2006

Qs: Passive Constructions; Meaning of 'Bobonkt'

Editor for this issue: Jessica Boynton <jessicalinguistlist.org>

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Directory         1.    Xiaoyan Zhou, Passive Constructions
        2.    Carlota Smith, Meaning of 'Bobonkt'

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Message 1: Passive Constructions
Date: 02-Jul-2006
From: Xiaoyan Zhou <lovelyrock06hotmail.com>
Subject: Passive Constructions


Dear collegues,

I am working on my doctoral dissertation which concerns passive constructions in different languages (such as Russian, Swahili, Japanese).

Except for Chinese, English and French, native speakers of other languages are cordially invited to read the following words and give appropriate answers.

For details, please go to http://www.poplarenglish.com/

Thanks in advance!

Best,

Colleen Xiaoyan Zhou

Linguistic Field(s): Syntax

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Message 2: Meaning of 'Bobonkt'
Date: 02-Jul-2006
From: Carlota Smith <carlotasmithmail.utexas.edu>
Subject: Meaning of 'Bobonkt'



Hi:

I am trying to find the meaning of a word used in the American West during the civil war period: the word is bobonkt. It appeared in the following sentence in a personal diary from 1863:

I went to get some bobonkt

so it's apparently a mass noun. I have looked in dictionaries that I found in the library, including the OED, and on Google, without success.

I'd appreciate any suggestions as to the word's meaning, and of where to look for the word.

Thank you Carlota Smith --

Carlota S. Smith Centennial Professor of Linguistics Dept of Linguistics University of Texas Austin, Tx 78712-1196

Linguistic Field(s): Lexicography

Subject Language(s): English (eng)