Counting days in Hokkaidō Ainu : some thoughts on internal reconstruction and etymology

A new etymological solution is proposed to explain two highly irregular formations in Ainu: *tutko ‘two days’ and *rerko ‘three days’, from *tu ‘2’ and *re ‘3’, respectively. These words contain two components which have not been satisfactorily explained hitherto: *-t- and *-r-, and *-ko. The assumption is made that these components are the remains of older formations that were subjected to reduction over time. These older formations took part in a coherent system of derivation by means of the element *rerko ‘12-hour period’. The entire system collapsed long ago, but can be partially deduced from Ainu dialectal data via internal reconstruction. The very nature of the scenario put forward in this contribution rises some interesting questions regarding the method of internal reconstruction and its limits

Sakhalin Ainu utar ~ utah and common Ainu *-r

In this brief contribution, a more accurate treatment of the sound correspondence Hokkaidō Ainu -r# vs. Sakhalin Ainu -rV# ~ -N# is offered. Explaining the particularities of such a correspondence requires introducing a non-trivial modification of the traditional synchronic description of Sakhalin Ainu morphophonemics

Urban legends : Turkish "kayık" "boat" and "Eskimo" "qayaq" "kayak"

The main goal of this paper is to show that the proposed relationship between Turkish kayık ‘boat’ and Eskimo qayaq ‘kayak’ is far-fetched. After a philological analysis of the available materials, it will be proven that the oldest attestation and recoverable stages of these words are kay-guk (11th c.) < Proto-Turkic */kad-/ in */kad-ï/ ‘fir tree’ and */qan-yaq/ (see Greenlandic pl. form kainet, from 18th c.) < Proto-Eskimo */qan(ə)-/ ‘to go/come (near)’ respectively. The explicitness of the linguistic evidence enables us to avoid the complex historical and cultural (archaeological) observations related to the hypothetical scenarios concerning encounters between the Turkic and Eskimo(-Aleut) populations, so typical in a discussion of this issue. In the process of this main elucidation, two marginal questions will be addressed too: the limited occasions on which “Eskimo” materials are dealt with in English (or other language) sources, and the etymology of (Atkan) Aleut iqya- ‘single-hatch baidara’

Tungusic historical linguistics and the Buyla (a.k.a. Nagyszentmiklós) inscription

This paper presents a proper linguistic assessment of the Tungusic reading of the Buyla inscription, as proposed by the late Eugene Helimski (1950–2007) who believed that one of the languages spoken by the European Avars was Tungusic. The main conclusion is that the Tungusic reading should be rejected. This outcome partly agrees with the communis opinio whereby the Buyla inscription hides a(n unidentified so far) Turkic language

Counting days in Hokkaidō Ainu : some thoughts on internal reconstruction and etymology

A new etymological solution is proposed to explain two highly irregular formations in Ainu: *tutko ‘two days’ and *rerko ‘three days’, from *tu ‘2’ and *re ‘3’, respectively. These words contain two components which have not been satisfactorily explained hitherto: *-t- and *-r-, and *-ko. The assumption is made that these components are the remains of older formations that were subjected to reduction over time. These older formations took part in a coherent system of derivation by means of the element *rerko ‘12-hour period’. The entire system collapsed long ago, but can be partially deduced from Ainu dialectal data via internal reconstruction. The very nature of the scenario put forward in this contribution rises some interesting questions regarding the method of internal reconstruction and its limits

E-Government Strategies in Spanish Local Governments

Interest in the use of new technologies as an instrument for the modernisation of public management is something common in public administrations. Local governments have recently invested considerable human and material resources to try to deliver services in a more efficient way. Although the progress made in the implementation of information and communication technology (ICT) has been significant, an analysis of all local government shows that its impact on the reform policies has been unequal, and that the real objectives of these processes of modernisation have not always been the same. Most governments have chosen a strategy that reproduces the way that the traditional administration works; whereas only a few have tried to make use of the potential that ICT offers to provide more transparency, new online services and to make administrations more receptive to citizens’ needs. The first section of this article gives global data about the development of ICT in Spanish municipalities. Next, the websites of Spanish cities are analysed to identify the factors that enhance e-government and its implementation in the benefit of transparency, interaction with citizens and accountabilit