Maximilian:
>I must admit, i didn`t quite get the point why there has to be found an
>english alternative to "Slovene".
Simona:
I wasn't being so deadly serious about this.
Maximilian:
>Secondly, why i wouldn`t find the designation "carniolian" appropriate, is
>that it is already used for a specific dialect of slovenian spoken in this
>region, in fact 2: Lower Carniolian, Upper Carniolian. And these are just 2
>of the 15 dialects of Slovene. (But i`m not sure about the number, please
>correct me if necessary)
Simona:
There are 8 main dialects of Slovenia: the two that you have mentioned plus
Carinthian, Styrian, Pannonian and dialects of the Coast, Kocevje and Rovte
region. These are divided into about 37 subgroups. By the way, due to the
historical development these dialects are VERY different from each other. A
Pannonian guy and a Coastal guy probably wouldn't understand each other if
there wasn't the literary language. The word for "what" is a good
illustration of these diferences: In the literary language it is 'kaj', but
in different dialects it can be heard as kva, ke, kej, kuoga etc. More on
Slovenia can be found on
http://www.matkurja.com - if anybody's interested.
Piotr:
Lower Carniolan is the historical basis of literary Slovene, isn't it?
Simona:
Well...yes.
Piotr:
I think both Carniola and Carinthia (as well as the Carnic Alps) took their
names from the same Celtic group -- the Carni. Do you know anything about
that, Simona and Maximilian?
Simona:
I wrote about this before. Most linguists think that both names derive from
a Substratum word for stone, rock - *kar-. Pokorny thinks that the name
Carinthia (sln. Koroska, also Karantanija - points to a nasal) might also be
of a pie. origin - the root he considers is *kar- 'hard'> *kar-k-. There's
also a Celtic interpretation, if you want it: Celtic *carantos 'friend'.
Would you find this convincing?
Actually, I don't know this "Carni" interpretation. Do you remember your
source?
lp
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