From: Rex H. McTyeire
Message: 3537
Date: 2000-09-03
I see there is a Moldova River, a tributary of the Siret. Yes, I finally found the Siret. The name 'Moldavia/Moldova' is confusing, almost wantonly applied. This is just as confusing as 'Morava', which shows up as the name of two distinct Danube tributaries.Piotr says in response:The name of the River Moldova (after which the country is named) may be connected with *mld-u- (Skt. mRdu-, Latin mollis < *mld-w-i-) 'soft, mild, gentle'. When the former "Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic" became an independent country in 1991, "Republica Moldova" became its official name, which is why Moldova is now also the preferred English variant ("Moldavia" is associated with the Soviet past). Modern Moldova is roughly coextensive with historical Bessarabia.But Rex said on the same point:Moldova is the Romaneste name for the whole region: everything North of the Danube delta, east of Transyvania and Bucovina, to the Dneister (and south of Poland) was Moldova (historical province). Moldavia became applied to a part of it as a westernized name for a political "principality", separated from Russian occupied Bessarabia, but this Moldavia also politically dissappeared in 1859. Now the former Russian occupied Bessarabia is the country of Moldova, but the region still in Romania is either Moldova (local) or Moldavia (international). Confusing? You betcha.Rex adds: Hmmm. Some difference in perception. Must apply an anthropological approach tonarrow. Enter house guest: Corina Bejanaru, 14, student, favorite subject: Romanian history, relationship: little sister of girlfriend. Home Town: Iasi, Moldova . Task: read these two paragraphs and sort them out. Recorded comments and excerpts from intensive interview below:-):Corina says:1) The river is called Moldova because it runs through Moldova.2) The people in the whole area, Moldoveni, have always called home Moldova3) Moldavia is English from the Hapsburg usage or something else.4) We even called the political "principat" Moldova, but it was designated by foreigners: Moldavia.5) Bessarabia as " The Democratic Rebublic of Moldova" became temporarily independent on 27 March 1918. Russians later decided that was "Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic."6) "Moldavia" is older than the soviet past, but erroneous and external.7) They didn't name it Moldova to avoid the Soviet usage of Moldavia, they just named it right.8) Some English speakers now use Moldova because they finally started listening to us, rather than foreign powers corrupting our word. But most of them still use Moldavia (yech).