The interplay between local and wider geographical uses of directional terms in West Greenlandic

Naja Blytmann Trondhjem; Michael David Fortescue

The interplay between local and wider geographical uses of directional terms in West Greenlandic

Naja Blytmann Trondhjem, Michael David Fortescue

Abstract

The interplay between local and wider geographical uses of directional terms in West Greenlandic. Like in many of the 'landmark' orientation systems of the Arctic and Sub-Arctic, there is potential ambiguity in West Greenlandic between the use of directional terms in the local setting and when referring to a wider geographical area. This is in part due to the influence of the cardinal system of Danish (and the other European languages), but is also inherent in the native system itself as it can be reconstructed prior to contact with the West. How this ambiguity pans out (and is contextually resolved) in the northwestern hunting district will be illustrated with help of maps and prictures from around the small town of Upernavik. Although the Greenlandic (Eskimo) orientation system has been described in some detail in the linguistic literature, how it is actually used on a daily basis in real-life settings and situations has not been adequately investigated.

Originalsprog	Engelsk
Publikationsdato	1 jun. 2010
Status	Udgivet - 1 jun. 2010
Begivenhed	Hunter-Gatherers and Sematic Categories: An interdisciplinary workshop on Theory, Method and Documentation - Neuwied, Tyskland Varighed: 30 maj 2010 → 4 jun. 2010

Konference

Konference	Hunter-Gatherers and Sematic Categories: An interdisciplinary workshop on Theory, Method and Documentation
Land/Område	Tyskland
By	Neuwied
Periode	30/05/2010 → 04/06/2010

Citationsformater

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title = "The interplay between local and wider geographical uses of directional terms in West Greenlandic",

abstract = "The interplay between local and wider geographical uses of directional terms in West Greenlandic. Like in many of the 'landmark' orientation systems of the Arctic and Sub-Arctic, there is potential ambiguity in West Greenlandic between the use of directional terms in the local setting and when referring to a wider geographical area. This is in part due to the influence of the cardinal system of Danish (and the other European languages), but is also inherent in the native system itself as it can be reconstructed prior to contact with the West. How this ambiguity pans out (and is contextually resolved) in the northwestern hunting district will be illustrated with help of maps and prictures from around the small town of Upernavik. Although the Greenlandic (Eskimo) orientation system has been described in some detail in the linguistic literature, how it is actually used on a daily basis in real-life settings and situations has not been adequately investigated. ",

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T1 - The interplay between local and wider geographical uses of directional terms in West Greenlandic

AU - Trondhjem, Naja Blytmann

AU - Fortescue, Michael David

PY - 2010/6/1

Y1 - 2010/6/1

N2 - The interplay between local and wider geographical uses of directional terms in West Greenlandic. Like in many of the 'landmark' orientation systems of the Arctic and Sub-Arctic, there is potential ambiguity in West Greenlandic between the use of directional terms in the local setting and when referring to a wider geographical area. This is in part due to the influence of the cardinal system of Danish (and the other European languages), but is also inherent in the native system itself as it can be reconstructed prior to contact with the West. How this ambiguity pans out (and is contextually resolved) in the northwestern hunting district will be illustrated with help of maps and prictures from around the small town of Upernavik. Although the Greenlandic (Eskimo) orientation system has been described in some detail in the linguistic literature, how it is actually used on a daily basis in real-life settings and situations has not been adequately investigated.

AB - The interplay between local and wider geographical uses of directional terms in West Greenlandic. Like in many of the 'landmark' orientation systems of the Arctic and Sub-Arctic, there is potential ambiguity in West Greenlandic between the use of directional terms in the local setting and when referring to a wider geographical area. This is in part due to the influence of the cardinal system of Danish (and the other European languages), but is also inherent in the native system itself as it can be reconstructed prior to contact with the West. How this ambiguity pans out (and is contextually resolved) in the northwestern hunting district will be illustrated with help of maps and prictures from around the small town of Upernavik. Although the Greenlandic (Eskimo) orientation system has been described in some detail in the linguistic literature, how it is actually used on a daily basis in real-life settings and situations has not been adequately investigated.

M3 - Paper

T2 - Hunter-Gatherers and Sematic Categories: An interdisciplinary workshop on Theory, Method and Documentation

Y2 - 30 May 2010 through 4 June 2010

ER -