Talk:Jamboree

Etymology - Boy Scout focused

The article fails to focus on the specific history of the Boy Scout use of the term "Jamboree" by focusing on similar uses of the word used elsewhere. The word "Jamboree" in modern use confuses its Boy Scout origins.

Simply, the Boy Scout word "Jamboree" was Jambo with the ending of -ree. "Jambo-ree (sic)" being a borrowed foreign word was then formally in a British English style that is no longer used today by most English speakers. Only in legal matters, also known as "Legalese" do we still see similar terms in use.

The word Jamboree is the Swahili word Jambo used in English, as a borrowed foreign word, with the ending -ree. The word Jamboree is a transitive verb with a direct action of the primary word Jambo.^[5] For example, an attendee of a Jambo is a Jamboree. The word "Jamboree" is used primarily by the Scouting program before the first Boy Scout Jamboree in 1920. The word sadly has also come to mean "a lavish or boisterous celebration or party" outside of the Scouting program.^[6][7] Another example of a transitive word is "transferee" which the person receiving a transfer (money or goods) is the transfer-ree dropping the extra r. In contrast the person giving the transfer is the "transferor." Such transitive words are still used in formal terms dealing in legal affairs.^[8]

Again, modern confusion is reflective in some dictionary entries. For example, according to the Canadian Oxford Dictionary, the etymology is "19th century, origin unknown". The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) identifies it as coming from American slang, identifying a use in the New York Herald in 1868 and in Irish writings later in the 19th century.^[9] Within a half century, the meaning outside the Scouting program was becoming lost.

Baden-Powell was once asked why he chose "jamboree". He replied, "What else would you call it?" His response made sense if the word had already had a specific BOY SCOUT meaning other than being a "boisterous gathering." The word "Jamboree" was to be used in the Boy Scout Movement rather than any other definition. It was coined by Baden-Powell and meant specially for Boy Scout use.

AGAIN the word "Jamboree" today has several claimed possible origins, ranging from Hindi to Swahili to Native American dialects, which seems to deliberately confuse the Boy Scout meaning used by Baden-Powell.^[10][11]

The most logical use is that the name "Jamboree" is that Jambo derived from the Swahili for hello, Jambo!, as a result of the considerable amount of time he spent in the South African region in the 1880s then again in the late 1890s.^[12][13]

Baden-Powell deliberately chose the name "Jamboree" where attendees were warmly welcomed attending this first Boy Scout rally or meeting with the word "Jambo!" Many, at this first "Jamboree" or "Scout gathering" did not fully capture the spirit of this then-new concept or greeting. At the first "World Jamboree" at Olympia in 1920, Lord Baden-Powell said "People give different meanings for this word, but from this year on, jamboree will take a specific meaning. It will be associated to the largest gathering of youth that ever took place."^[14]

Olave, Lady Baden-Powell, coined the term jamborese to refer to the lingua franca used between Scouts of different languages and cultural habits, that develops when diverse Scouts meet, that fosters friendship and understanding between Scouts of the world.^[15] This statement is clear that the Boy Scout Movement use the term "Jamboree" meant it was a place where attendees would receive friendly greetings of "Jambo!" Jrcrin001 (talk) 22:45, 5 June 2023 (UTC)