Talk:chʼil naʼatłʼoʼiitsoh

Prune

For prunes, would there be a term meaning "dried" added (as for raisins, or any other dried fruit)? 71.66.97.228 05:52, 3 May 2011 (UTC)

Not as far as I know. I have never seen a dry prune. —Stephen ^(Talk) 11:46, 3 May 2011 (UTC)

Prunes are not dry (devoid of moisture), but "dried," in that, like raisins, most of the moisture has been removed through sun- or oven drying. I would assume that, since the drying of fruits for preservation purposes is very common throughout North American indigenous cultures, that there would be a term for this. 71.66.97.228 03:37, 4 May 2011 (UTC)

No, they just call it chʼil naʼatłʼoʼiitsoh. Traditionally there was no refrigeration or tin cans, so most foods had to be eaten immediately or somehow preserved. No need for special terms because you eat what’s available. Sometimes certain times of the year were named for the foods that were abundant during that time, like names for months, but there was not much of a reason to distinguished between fruit directly off the vine and fruit that has been prepared for storage. —Stephen ^(Talk) 04:00, 4 May 2011 (UTC)

I guess it would be similar to fresh corn kernels (on the cob), and dried corn kernels which need to be ground or boiled before eating. We don't really have different names for those in English, though of course, if one needs to be specific in conversation, adjectives or modifiers can be added to make oneself clear. I presume that can also be done in Navajo if one really needs to refer to dried grapes (raisins)--for example, if sending someone to the store to buy raisins vs. grapes (similar to the various usages of "white vegetable" to refer to several different vegetables). 71.66.97.228 04:16, 4 May 2011 (UTC)