From Junko and Armin: A little report on our African safari tour

Professors Junko Ito and Armin Mester recently returned, in February, from a safari tour. They had the following report to share with the WHASC Editor:

After a grueling 20-hour flight to Johannesburg, South Africa, we started our three-week African tour, staying in safari camps in Zimbabwe, Zambia and Botswana. Spectacular game-viewing drives on jeeps — exhilarating scenery and closeby roaming wildlife (elephants, giraffes, lions, etc.).  One of the highlights was a boat expedition on the Zambezi river, with Victoria Falls on the horizon, where several hippos decided to chase our boat. We managed to do some field work with one of our safari guides, who was a speaker of Ndebele, a Bantu click language.  We were fortunate in coming across a small herd of endangered white rhinos — which turned out not to be “white” at all, but “wide-mouthed” (vs. the “pointed-mouth black rhinos”)  — a curious linguistic misinterpretation (and resulting misnomer) amongst the Dutch and English settlers in South Africa. Yes, final devoicing can have real-life consequences!