I'm under the impression that "harpe de gourde" is an etymological back-formation, posited to explain the origin of the English term "hurdy-gurdy". To my knowledge, there isn't actually much evidence for it's authentic and independent use. I'm not an expert, but my experience in linguistics has taught me to be skeptical when two terms for the same object are so similar in pronunciation, but lack a history of intermediate forms or a reasonable theory of phonetic mutation. This often indicates an instance of folk etymology, in which a term of obscure or even foreign origin is altered, so as to provide a straightforward justification for its form and meaning. I can't come up with a lot of examples off the top of my head, but this is a fairly common linguistic process. "Gourd harp" doesn't make much sense as a description of the HG, but "hurdy-gurdy" doesn't mean anything at all!
Nathan Roy Date: Wed, 24 Sep 2008 13:09:05 -0400 From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: hg@hurdygurdy.com Subject: [HG] Harpe de Gourde Hello, someone just told me that he had saw the hurdy gurdy being referred to as a "Harpe de gourde", or gourd harp. I've never seen this term for a HG, and was just wondering if anyone has info on its origins. Thanks! Vero -- Véronique Chau ------ Telephone: (949) 701-7454 E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] _________________________________________________________________ See how Windows connects the people, information, and fun that are part of your life. http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/msnnkwxp1020093175mrt/direct/01/
