Post by cjm on Dec 27, 2015 16:47:27 GMT
The contribution made by Afrikaans (and Dutch) in this regard often goes unnoticed
and while the common names in older editions of plant books were often produced
in separate indices, they now very often disappear into the general index. It probably
takes an English speaker to take note of the Afrikaans contribution. I produce Manning's
comments in this regard, below.
Local bird names are also often in Afrikaans.
and while the common names in older editions of plant books were often produced
in separate indices, they now very often disappear into the general index. It probably
takes an English speaker to take note of the Afrikaans contribution. I produce Manning's
comments in this regard, below.
Local bird names are also often in Afrikaans.
Vernacular Names
Vernacular, or common, names have been provided where possible, gleaned primarily
from Christo Smith's incomparable Common Names of South African Plants, but with
reference to the many popular guides produced over the past century. In many cases,
a selection has been made from among several choices, discarding those names that
are uncommonly used, or are not especially applicable. Where the names have been
suggested by some obvious visible attribute of the plants their derivation has not
been given, but in cases where their origin is more obscure, this is explained. Most of
the common names are originally Dutch or Afrikaans, reflecting the language spoken
by the early settlers in the Cape, but others are derived from indigenous Khoi terms,
representing just a fraction of the original Khoi plant taxonomy. English translations
or transliterations have been provided where suitable.
Common names were used by the early inhabitants of the Cape primarily to
identify plants in terms of their particular attributes, often medicinal, and, for this
reason, were sometimes applied indiscriminately to several different species with
similar properties. In addition, various names may have been applied to the same
plant by different people and in different regions. Given the diversity of species in
the Cape, with new ones still being discovered each year, it is not possible to assign
a unique common name to each species. Although rarely speciļ¬c, the vernacular
names are invariably colourful, usually intensely informative, and often as familiar
to the local inhabitants as Latin binomials are to botanists. They represent a rich
cultural heritage that deserves to prosper.
Manning: Fynbos, Struik (2007), p23
Vernacular, or common, names have been provided where possible, gleaned primarily
from Christo Smith's incomparable Common Names of South African Plants, but with
reference to the many popular guides produced over the past century. In many cases,
a selection has been made from among several choices, discarding those names that
are uncommonly used, or are not especially applicable. Where the names have been
suggested by some obvious visible attribute of the plants their derivation has not
been given, but in cases where their origin is more obscure, this is explained. Most of
the common names are originally Dutch or Afrikaans, reflecting the language spoken
by the early settlers in the Cape, but others are derived from indigenous Khoi terms,
representing just a fraction of the original Khoi plant taxonomy. English translations
or transliterations have been provided where suitable.
Common names were used by the early inhabitants of the Cape primarily to
identify plants in terms of their particular attributes, often medicinal, and, for this
reason, were sometimes applied indiscriminately to several different species with
similar properties. In addition, various names may have been applied to the same
plant by different people and in different regions. Given the diversity of species in
the Cape, with new ones still being discovered each year, it is not possible to assign
a unique common name to each species. Although rarely speciļ¬c, the vernacular
names are invariably colourful, usually intensely informative, and often as familiar
to the local inhabitants as Latin binomials are to botanists. They represent a rich
cultural heritage that deserves to prosper.
Manning: Fynbos, Struik (2007), p23