SC - [Fwd: Re: Medieval distillery question]

[Philip & Susan Troy]

"Alderton, Philippa" wrote:
> 
> Adamantius sez:
> 
> >Possibly this is a case of clash between marketing jargon and scientific
> terminology (Phlip, are you reading this??? ;  )    ). You know, the
> impulse that gets hake, ling, and pollock to be sold as "scrod". <
> 
> Yes I am, A, and I strongly suspect that in this case, you're mistaken, oh
> mighty guru of all things edible ;-)
> 
> Taxinomy (sp?) in not one of my strong suits- not even sure I'm spelling it
> right- but I'll try to explain.

Explanation perfectly clear and adequate but also unnecessary. I'm not
questioning anybody's statement that garlic chives and walking onions
are different plants. I'm not a botanist and don't play one on
television. I'm saying that plants fitting the stated descriptions of
walking onions, but not the description stated by the lady from Gurney's
of garlic chives, are available in the produce sections of several Asian
markets in my neighborhood, marketed as garlic chives. I suppose I could
be mistaken about this, it's true, but I doubt anyone would know what's
for sale in my neighborhood better than I do. 

My point was that taxonomy really isn't the issue here (or wasn't when I
posted about seeing these onions), which is why I stressed the point
that marketing nomenclature may be different from taxonomical
nomenclature. We have Physical Object A being called by the name of
Physical Object B in a store whose employees, and most of the clientele,
aren't generally fluent English-speakers anyway. That doesn't make me
confused as to which Object is which, and if you pointed out the
inaccuracy of the nomenclature to the guy who made the little sign, he'd
probably say, "So what?"

Interestingly enough, another name I've seen applied to the Welsh Onion
is the Japanese Bunching Onion, and I suspect that if an error of
nomenclature was made by the store in my area, it may have been a
deliberate refusal to use this name in English if the person knew no
other. He may have simply made up a name (i.e. garlic chive) that seemed
to fit, without knowing or caring that the name had already been used
for something else, but knowing that few Chinese who remember the Asian
Theater of the Second World War would want to buy a product with the
word "Japanese" in its name.
     
Adamantius
- -- 
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com
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