--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Petusek"
<petusek@......> wrote:
> > Petusek
wrote:
> For those who are interested, I live in a place where
three
>different dialects meet. Silesian (some features common with
the
>neighbouring Polish), Vallachian (most archaic) and Haná
(most
>progressive).
> Pet'usek
*********
Dan wrote:
> I'm interested. Why does the population of a
corner of Moravia, as
>Slavic as any of its neighbors, so far as I know,
have a name
>suggesting a Romance-speaking people?
>Dan
Milton
This is a controversial matter. The term "Vallachian" or better
"Vlachian") is of unsure origin.
In Czech, we have two terms:
Valach = Romanian (!), Carpathian
herdsman
vs.
Vlach = Italian
Valach means generally a "herdsman" in Slavic languages,
but also a castrated horse, a gelding, since Valachs were thought to be the
first people to geld.
There are several hypothesis concerning the origin of the
people and their name:
1) Some consider them successors of the Danubian Celtic tribe
of Volcae (Germ. *walch- > Slav. *Volch-, Czech Vlach, Russ. Voloch, Rom.
Valach) [Holub-Lyer]
2) Similarly, Celtic Volcae, Germ. *Walho:s, the Germanic
tribes began to use that expression to denote the Celts in general (whence
English Wales) and then transferred the name to Romance people (OHG Wal(a)h
"Romance person, Italian, French", German welsch "Romance", Dutch wa:ls "Valon".
This denotation would be accepted by Slavs, appearing as Vlach
"Italian" and Valach "Romanian" in Czech. Romanian Valachs are thought to reach
the Eastern Moravian region during their colonization of Carpathian Mountains
(whence Moravian Valachs) and to give the knowledge of gelding to the local
population (whence the term for a gelding, "Valach") [REJZEK]
Both (very similar, if not the same) hypotheses are not
generally accepted for lack of solid evidence.
Traces of foreign origin can bee seen in several lexical
items, such as <ogar> "a boy". All PS /g/ > /h/ in Czech, so it's clear
that "ogar" must be a loan. It's a pity there's no list of these special
words.
Best,
Pet'usek