The two American states, Kansas and Arkansas, derive their names from Indigenous tribes. Both are plural or genitive forms, with their singular or nominative counterparts being Kanza and Arkanza.
What distinguishes them? The Kartvelian negative prefix "ar-".
- Who lives there?
- Kanza.
- And over there?
- Not Kanza—Arkanza.
We’ve seen similar pairs in Spain (Arauaces – Vaccaei) and France (Armorica – Morica).
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