Changes of Musical Instruments’ Names Along the Long Journey: Adopting, Adapting, Transforming and Changing

Abstract

Through a long distance migration of some musical instruments, their relationships are sometimes given by their names. In this paper, the author will investigate the traces of their origins and the present locations of selected instruments. A number of musical instruments’ names will be analyzed through linguistic aspects -- adopting, adapting, transforming and changing. These names include vina plucked instruments, sa diev monochord, taro fiddle, ku drum, pey or oboe, sralai oboe, and ken bamboo mouth organ.