Tilang Kamerau

[A. G. Maisey]

Yep, we can blame that hated Latin for much.

In Classical Malay, "kamera" is a ship's cabin; in Italian a "camera" is a hotel room; Javanese also uses "kamar" for room; then we have the English camera, which is essentially a small room --- ie, small enclosed space --- and of course Ian's "in camera". Actually, the Oxford on Historical Principles devotes around 3 inches of column space to the word "camera" and its derivatives, and I need a magnifying glass to read the print.

No wonder I hated Latin so much 60 odd years ago.

As for the "kemarin" suggestion, well, yes, it does have the same vowels and consonants, but spoken, it has a sound nothing at all like "kamaran".

Personally, I feel that we may have gone as far as it is possible to go in this matter, what is really needed now is somebody who can speak the language, who can live within the society, and who understands the culture. This person could then dedicate a large part of his life to getting at the real guts of the matter. In other words:- dedicated field research, in my experience, its the only thing that really works.