Date: Sun, 20 Nov 1994 02:00:00 LCL

From: "M. Lynne Murphy" 104LYN[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]MUSE.ARTS.WITS.AC.ZA

Subject: Re: Pigtails



From: "Warren A. Brewer" NCUT054%TWNMOE10.BITNET[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]uga.cc.uga.edu

The dispute is over the meaning of pigtails . For me, pigtails =

braids , & therefore are both [+braided]; for a colleague (Maine) &

his wife (NY), braids are indeed [+braided], but (incroyablement)

pigtails is the dual of ponytail , for which I have a lexical

gap.





i don't think i fit into either of your patterns. braids are things

that are braided, ponytails and pigtails are tied-off hunks of hair--

regardless of whether they are braided or not: you can have a regular

ponytail or a braided one. the only difference for me between pony

tails and pigtails is their positioning. a ponytail goes on the back

of your head, making your head look like a horse's posterior (that

may be a bit of aesthetic judgment as well as lexicographic

description), whereas pigtails are normally (but not exclusively) on

the sides of the head, esp. when bound above the ears.



lynne



____________________________________________________________________

M. Lynne Murphy e-mail: 104lyn[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]muse.arts.wits.ac.za

Lecturer, Dept. of Linguistics phone: 27(11)716-2340

University of the Witwatersrand fax: 27(11)716-8030

Johannesburg 2050 South Africa