Language
The Karankawa language, of which only about a hundred words are preserved, cannot be classified, as so little is known of languages in this region. The meaning of the name Karankawa is not certain. It is believed to mean "dog-lovers" or "dog-helpers." That rendering seems credible, since the Karankawas had dogs, which were a fox or coyote-like species. In a nomadic-type culture, the people seasonally migrated between the mainland and the barrier islands.
Read more about this topic: Karankawa People
Famous quotes containing the word language:
“The problems of society will also be the problems of the predominant language of that society. It is the carrier of its perceptions, its attitudes, and its goals, for through it, the speakers absorb entrenched attitudes. The guilt of English then must be recognized and appreciated before its continued use can be advocated.”
—Njabulo Ndebele (b. 1948)
“Syntax and vocabulary are overwhelming constraints—the rules that run us. Language is using us to talk—we think we’re using the language, but language is doing the thinking, we’re its slavish agents.”
—Harry Mathews (b. 1930)