*SOAP rings the globe

Abstract

A recently published article on the Chaozhou dialect of Min spoken in Singapore states that the word sak7 burj2 -soap" (sap7 bunt in other Mm dialects of China and Taiwan) is a borrowing of Malay s a bu n (Li Yongming 1991:58). This claim may very well be true as far as it goes. But in directing our attention to only one small corner of the globe, it overlooks the interesting position occupied by the Min and Malay terms within the much larger and very colorful global mosaic to which Min and Malay have contributed only a few of the pieces. A close look at the lexeme -soap" In languages around the world reveals that many languages have inherited or borrowed the same word. viz.. many of the modern forms meaning -soap" are ultimately derived from the same etymon. Proto-Indo-European •solb-on "soap". This remarkable transmission of "soap" into the world's languages has now reached global proportions, so that it seems to be one of the world's most widely borrowed words of material culture.