just wondering why "kiwi" can't mean both the bird and the fruit""When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean--neither more nor less." I guess my response belonged more in the "pet peeves" thread. "Kiwifruit" tends to bespelled as one word here in New Zealand. I have an "Australasian" gardening book, which like most things "Australasian" means that the percentage of non-Australian content is rougly equal to the amount of naturally occuring xenon in the atmosphere. This tome spells it as two words, which I guess is the standard outside the Shaky Isles. Part of the reason for the preference in NZ for "kiwifruit" is that the "kiwi" in the name derives from the informal designation for New Zealanders, rather than the Maori name for the bird. The Maori language is considered a "taonga" or treasure, and there is great emphasis laid on using it correctly. It's possible that this attitude is at least partly responsible for the preference shown for "kiwifruit." In the end, my response was probably more the result of cultural conditioning than linguistic dogmatism. Maybe if we all reverted to "Chinese gooseberry" the problem would be solved. The kiwifruit of today bears little resemblance to the small, tart fruit of a vine that grew wild in China, and, if I remember rightly, was considered noxious there.
Sorry for the ramble, especially because it has tempted me to start an entirely new thread on some of the other nuances of New Zealand English which get overlooked by others.
