Thursday, November 22, 2012

Where the word “Kangaroo” comes from?


      As almost every word, the origin of the word “kangaroo” has different versions. The most popular is a common myth about the kangaroo's English name is that "kangaroo" was a Guugu Yimithirr phrase for "I don't understand you." According to this legend, Lieutenant Cook and naturalist Sir Joseph Banks were exploring the area when they happened upon the animal. They asked a nearby local what the creatures were called. The local responded "Kangaroo", meaning "I don't understand you", which Cook took to be the name of the creature. However the Kangaroo myth was debunked in the 1970s by linguist John B. Haviland in his research with the Guugu Yimithirr people.
Thereby, this is a more acceptable origin of the term: The word kangaroo derives from the Guugu Yimithirr (an Australian aboriginal language) word gangurru, referring to grey kangaroos. The name was first recorded as "kangooroo or kanguru" on 4 August 1770, by Lieutenant (later Captain) James Cook on the banks of the Endeavour River at the site of modern Cooktown.

…And you, which one would you choice? 


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