several words/comments

[Hans Fischer]

am 06.04.2002 2:15 Uhr schrieb jenny xomerang unter jenny at xomerang.com:

> 
> Craig,
> 
> I always understood 'lang' to mean 'fly' (the insect, as in the pests from
> the Poliamba oil palm plantations polluting villages in New Ireland), and
> among New Ireland people I have never heard 'flai' used as a substitute, but
> I have heard this usage from some Highlands friends.
> 
> I know that in Nalik (New Ireland) clover is called "klei gras" (clay grass)
> because it's grass that grows on clay soil.
> 
> 
> This plant 'filas': in my language 'Nalik' (New Ireland) we call it
> 'Aflaas'. In some  parts of Central and the Highlands when people get body
> aches they slap their skin with its leaves. It would be good to find out the
> scientific name for it.  What is it called in Tok Pisin?
> 
> 
> "kumbak" as far as I know is a Kuanua word.  In simple terms it means to
> sleep away from one's house. It often has a negative implication and is said
> to sap the energy of other people in the village.
> 
> 
> "doktapis"/"doktafis"
> 
> There are two different types of fish that people call "doktapis" in New
> Ireland.  The first kind is small and lives in fresh water. And like you
> said it is an introduced species, I believe, from somewhere in Africa, but I
> may be wrong.  The second type (called "alanglaang" in Nalik) lives in the
> ocean as well as fresh water and is a scavenger.  I believe they are called
> "doktapis" in New Ireland because in past years medical orderlies went
> around to the villages and informed people about the benefits of keeping
> these waste-scavenging fish alive.
> 
> 
> jenny
> 
> 
> ----------
>> From: "C A Volker" <volker at ha.shotoku.ac.jp>
>> To: Multiple recipients of list <MIHALIC at anu.edu.au>
>> Subject: several words/comments
>> Date: Fri, 5 Apr 2002 17:57:45 +0900
>> 
> 
>> Here are some interesting terms (not related in any way) that struck me
>> after going back to New Ireland the last couple months-
>> 
>> 
>> 1. flai / lang:
>> The original Mihalic lists the insect "fly" as lang, and  says that "flai"
>> is only a verb. Lang is certainly used throughout the NG Islands, but last
>> month in New Ireland, a visiting Highlands friend said they use "flai" for
>> the insect. After he said this, I noticed many younger people in New Ireland
>> as well as a man from Buka also using "flai" or "flais" interchangeably with
>> "lang".
>> 
>> 2. Ai bilong haus
>> is described on the web page as " the gable of a house". But I've heard it
>> more as "door" in at least some parts of New Ireland. This is a direct
>> translation from Nalik (New Ireland) and, I think, many other Austronesian
>> languages. What would be the geographic uses of the two meanings?
>> 
>> 3. klei
>> is used in Nalik  (New Ireland) for "clover". Some people claimed this was
>> Tok Pisin as well as tok ples, but I was unable to ask non-Nalik people
>> about this before leaving PNG last month. Does anyone know it from elsewhere
>> in the country?
>> 
>> 4. filas
>> is a broad-leafed bush in New Ireland. The leaf burns the skin and when
>> mixed with dry coconuts scrapings and red ants, it is thrown into the reef
>> to attract a certain species of fish. I don't know the English or scientific
>> name of the plant.
>> 
>> 5. kumbak
>> I've only heard this in the NGI, not on the mainland. It means an exhausting
>> guest or the fact that one is exhausted the day after having had company.
>> Often used as an excuse for being so tired.
>> 
>> 6. doktapis / doktafis
>> A very small introduced species of fish that eats mosquito larvae and likes
>> to nibble on people's sores when they stand still in the water. I don't know
>> the English or scientific name.
>> 
>> 
>> Craig Volker
>> 
>> ***************************
>> ÇÊÇÎǵǂǮäËǢǵÇÐÇ
ÅB
>> äÚïåê¼ìøäwâÄëÂäwèïã„é–
>> ÉNÉåÉCÉOÅEÉtÉHÉãÉJÅ[
>> 
>> Craig Volker, PhD
>> Gifu Shotoku Gakuen University
>> Gifu, Japan
>> 
>> volker at nalik.org
>> cell: JAPAN (81) (0)90-1721-1226
>> tel/fax: USA 1-206-338-2559
>> ***************************
>> 
> 
as far as I know, "klei gras" is nothing but the German word "Klee"
(pronounced like "clay"), which means clover. There are quite some German
words in Pidgin, think of the many German missionaries.

Hans Fischer