Originally posted by Bryn
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"Arrokoth was named for the word "sky" in the Powhatan language of the Tidewater region of Virginia and Maryland, where the District of Columbia is located. The pronunciation and meaning of the word, however, are not entirely certain, as the language became extinct in the late 18th century and little was recorded of it. The best material was collected in 1610–1611 by English writer William Strachey, who had a decent ear but unfortunately execrable handwriting, and scholars since have had considerable difficulty reading his notes. The meanings of the words are also often uncertain, as Strachey and the Powhatan had no language in common.. Siebert (1975:324) used comparison with other Algonquian languages to interpret Strachey's handwriting, and deciphers the relevant glossary entries as ⟨arrokoth⟩ 'sky' and ⟨arrahgwotuwss⟩ 'clouds'. He reconstructs these as the word /aːrahkwat/ 'cloud', pl. /aːrahkwatas/ (cf. Ojibwa /aːnakkwat/ 'cloud'), from the Proto-Algonquian *aːlaxkwatwi 'it is a cloud, it is cloudy'. Given that the first vowel is long (/aː/), that syllable would have been stressed, for ARR-o-koth..."
" the language became extinct in the late 18th century and little was recorded of it. The best material was collected in 1610–1611 by English writer William Strachey, who had a decent ear but unfortunately execrable handwriting, and scholars since have had considerable difficulty reading his notes. The meanings of the words are also often uncertain, as Strachey and the Powhatan had no language in common." - could be straight out of Perec's La Vie mode d'emploi
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