Re: [tied] Alba in the Scots context?

From: Rex H. McTyeire

To: cybalist@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Tuesday, April 17, 2001 8:15 PM

Subject: [tied] Alba in the Scots context?

The Alb/Alba-/Alp/Albion/e  place and feature names about Western Europe and edging into Eastern Europe have been addressed here in the past, and the subject has come up again on another list, and I am interested in list comments on the specific use in historic Scotland for the highlands; and/or the State consolidated later  ..simply "Alba" . (I'm safe, I don't have a position on the issue, just curiosity :-)

 

Some of the "answers" proposed from the other list (without linguistic guidance, of course  :-) :

 

* the name for Britain as a whole, meaning 'white', because of the white cliffs of Dover seen from France?

 

*ALBION noun a poetic or literary term for Britain or England (often used in referring to ancient or historical times).—ORIGIN Old English, from Latin , probably of Celtic origin and related to Latin albus 'white' (in allusion to the white cliffs of Dover). The phrase perfidious Albion (mid 19th cent.) translates the French la perfide Albion, alluding to alleged treachery toother nations. (OED)

 

* Alba , The Alps , and Albania are all noted for "high ground" .

 

* While the snow covered Alps could be described as "white" , it is less convincing to apply this term to either Albania or Alba (Scotland)

 

*  The Oxford English Dictionary is wrong.

 

* "Alba" comes from the same Common-Celtic root as "Alps" , "Albania" , and so on. In early Celtic the "p" and "b" sounds were interchangeable - "prittanni" and "brittani", for instance.

 

*...the place names with "Alb" or "Alp" in them have two things in common. (1) They were inhabited by Celtic-speaking peoples at one time, and (2) they have high land . Other places which are known to have been inhabited by Celtic-speaking peoples at one time _but which are low lying_ do not have "Alb" or "Alp" place names.

 

*..the name almost certainly originally applied to what nowadays is the Eastern Highlands, including the Cairngorms, the Angus Glens, and so on, and it was a reasonable description of the most distinctive feature of the area.

 

 

Slàinte mhath;

Rex H. McTyeire

 

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.