Talk:Thalweg

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[edit] Is "thalweg" misspelled?

"Thalweg (an English word compounded from the German elements Thal — since Duden's orthography reform of 1901 written Tal — meaning valley, and Weg, meaning way) is a misspelled term adopted into English usage for geography and geomorphology."

Is grammatically equal to

"Thalweg ... is a misspelled term ..."

I presume that the English language stole it from the Germans prior to the spelling reform; that means that "thalweg" is no more a misspelling than any of the numerous English words we got from the French before they changed THEIR spelling. Moreover, even if it had been mangled on the way over, the mangled English spelling would STILL be correct -- as long as one was writing in English.

For instance, the English word "sergeant" (stolen from the French) didn't somehow become misspelled when the French decided later that they wanted to spell it "sergent" instead.

Feel free to disagree, but I think a dialog at this stage might benefit people wishing to edit on this point. If I am misinterpreting the insertion of "misspelled" I would also like to know. 24.118.231.95 01:40, 31 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] another meaning?

I linked this on Pemberton Pass because I've heard that pass described as a thalweg' but the definitions I see here don't quite fit with waht I thought it meant, i.e. as a physiographic "shape"; not thte line of a valley bottom, but a deep "valley-way" through the mountains; "a valley that is/forms a road/route", I think usually in terms of a sequence of two or more drainages (as is the case at Pemberton Pass); the Rocky Mountain Trench perhaps might qualify, but Eagle Pass definitely fits the same mold. Anyway I'm sorry I don't have a citation for this, I'm surprised it's not in OED, which is hteo nly link here; I'll keep my eyes open. I'll also dig up a representative picture or sample topo map for Pemberton Pass as maybe there's a beter term to describe the valley's shape/style/type....Skookum1 (talk) 03:37, 13 June 2008 (UTC)