"In Nunavut (Northern Canada) a kayak is written as 'qajaq' and pronounced much like we say 'kayak' in English. A 'kayaker' is a 'qajaqti' (pronounced "kayak-tee"). Kayakers as a group would be 'qajaqkut' (pronounced "kayak-koot") 'I am kayaking' would be 'qajaqpunga' (pronounced "kayak-pung-ah") 'I want to go out seal hunting by kayak' would be 'netsijomasiorkpunga qajakkut'... A whole group of people known for their attachment to kayaking would be called 'qajangmiut' - that must be us! Isn't that fun? Michael" Michael: Is there an accessible source for the language you mention...Nunavut, Inuit? No doubt there would be many more interesting terms in that language related to kayaking. How did you pick up this lingo? One of my favourite books, which I measure by whether I am interested in reading the book again, and I've read this three times, is "Kabloona" by Gontran de Poncins. It describes a Frenchman who lives with the Inuit in 1938-9, some of the Inuit living the traditional life, igloos, dogs, sleds, many different words for different snow and ice types. Great glimpse of what is now probably a lost way of life, after rifles and pre-fab huts arrived. Nothing, unfortunately, about boats. Good paddling, Peter Treby 37°42'S 145°08'E *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Fri Dec 01 2000 - 19:47:38 PST
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