Of" Climbing Peanuts" and" Dog's Testicles", Mesztizo and Shuar plant nomenclature in Ecuador

Abstract:

A total of 411 vernacular names were recorded for 354 edible non-crop plant species that are used by nonindigenous mestizo people and indigenous Shuar people in southern Ecuador. Mestizo plant names, predominantly Spanish, are often formed through transposition, borrowing from native languages, or neology. These are mechanisms typically used by immigrants to name unknown plants. Mestizo names show different degrees of regional variability, though many are shared throughout the region. Vegetation diversity of an area influences the diversity of local plant names. Indigenous Shuar people use only Shuar plant names, which show little variation within the area they inhabit. A comparison of mestizo and Shuar naming practices suggests that mestizo people are more likely to give the same name to different plant species and to use more binomial names than Shuar people do.

Año de publicación:

2004

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Fuente:

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