Re: Croatians and the Carpathians

> ----- Original Message -----
> From: tgpedersen@...
> To: cybalist@...
> Sent: Wednesday, May 30, 2001 9:09 AM
> Subject: [tied] Re: Croatians and the Carpathians
>
>
> How about this:
> Originally "hrvatski jazyk (jezyk, ezyk?)" 'Carpathian language'.
> Then (after "Karpaty" is adopted as the Slavic name of the
> mountains), a back-formation "Hrvat" 'Croat' is made from the now
> opaque "hrvatski".
>
> Torsten

--- In cybalist@..., "Piotr Gasiorowski" <gpiotr@...> wrote:
> Not impossible as a scenario, but another basic problem with
deriving "Hrvat" or "hrvatski" from a hypothetical Slavic term for
the Carpathians (borrowed from some local Germani) is that such a
term (**xrvaty?) doesn't exists anywhere.
>
> Piotr
>
>
Except perhaps exactly for "Hrvat"? As I read your reply, you're
saying that *xrvat- is not used in any Slavic language to designate
the Carpathian mountains. But wasn't "Karpaty" (as you explained) a
relatively recent loan (from some non-Grimm-shifting language,
possibly Roumanian)? Aren't the Carpathians today in a Slav-depleted
(excuse the term) region? (It is also Germanic-depleted, and all
Germanic languages have given up *xarfaD-). Wouldn't it have been
possible for Slavs to have had a *xrvaty for the Carpathians before
having loaned "Karpaty"?

Torsten