[PW] yet again on Eskimos and snow

[Solomons1pal at aol.com]

Colleagues,
 
   Yet again the hoary old fallacies (and some new fallacies)  about the term 
"Eskimo" have come up on our list; they seem to fit our pet  notions so well 
that we cannot rid ourselves of them, no matter how often they  are refuted.  
Insofar as the truth about matters so complex and fraught  with emotion can be 
determined, it is as follows:
    1.  The term "Eskimo" may or may not mean "eater of raw fish"; its 
etymology  is uncertain, but there is no reason to suppose it is insulting in any 
way.  
    2.  The Eskimos of Alaska regularly refer to themselves as Eskimos  when 
speaking English.  
    3.  The term "Inuit" has long been the name for a  particular 
Canadian/Alaskan native people within the general population  of Eskimos, and using it as 
a replacement for "Eskimo" is a sure invitation to  confusion.  
    4.  Since no discussion of Eskimos, whatever its origin, is complete 
without  dragging in the question of how many words the Eskimos have for snow &  
ice, it must be said that the "myth" that they have many more such words than  
do dwellers in the temperate zone is not a myth, but a fact.
I provide no evidence here for any of these assertions because it would  take 
up an inordinate amount of space if posted, but it is available in my  
recently published book Language and Human Nature (Regent Press, 2006),  to which I 
recommend you.
 
                                                Mark  Halpern