--- In cybalist@..., cas111jd@... wrote:
> Might not the Skagerrak and Kattegat be corruptions of words the
pre-
> IE ancient mariners had for these bodies of water? Why would a
> Scandinavian need to go to the Netherlands to find a name for a sea
> in his own backyard?
>
Why would the English choose the term "North Sea" from Dutch maps?
But they have. Sea travel is different from land travel in that you
don't have to ask the locals for directions, so you will never hear
their place names. To the Danes the North Sea is also known as the
Vesterhav. To a Swede Västerhavet is Kattegat. There's a good reason
to use terms off Dutch maps: to align the names with those foreigners
use.
I believe the Old Norse for North Sea and Baltic were (approx.!,
retranslated into Danish) Vestersalt and Ăstersalt.
Torsten