rhithweledigaethau

Once again, it is time to learn the origins of some country names. Last time we explored Europe, so today we turn to the Americas, my homeland. 

Brazil: The word brasile has been around since the 1300′s, when it referred to a type of red wood from India used in dye making. The name is possibly related to the French word for embers, since the color of the wood resembled glowing red-orange embers, although this could be a folk etymology. The name came to apply to Brazil in South America because a similar redwood tree was found there. 

Barbados: This island was originally named las barbadas, meaning “bearded” by the Portuguese. This became Anglicized to “barbados” when the British formally made it a colony. The name is probably a reference to the moss hanging from trees around the island. Of course, the true reason for the name could be entirely different. Many place names in the Americas come from now-extinct native languages that were never written down by natives or Europeans, leaving linguists with few clues as to their origins. 

Canada: The true north strong and free derives its name from an Iroquoian word for “village” or “town”. The specific language the name is said to have come from is now extinct, but the story is corroborated by the similarity of Mohawk “kana-ta”, which also means “town.” (For those not raised in the Northeastern part of the Americas, Mohawk is also an Iroquois language, and is still spoken today.)  

So far I’ve been assuming that English pronunciation would become more “worn down” as words grew easier to pronounce. So for example, “the train is now leaving the station” will be pronounced /də tʃəinz na ‘livin də steiʃɪn/

But if more people read English words before they speak them (which will probably continue to be true for native and non-native English speakers), maybe we should expect something more “hyper-correct” like /ðɪ tə'ɹein ɪs nɑʊ 'li:viŋg ðɪ 'steitiən/ ?