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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walha
Walh (singular) or Walha (plural) is a Germanic word, meaning "foreigner", "stranger" or "Roman", German: welsch. The word can be found in Old High German walhisk, meaning "Roman, in Old English wilisc, meaning "Romano-British" and in Old Norse as valskr, meaning "French". Thus it will be derived from an Proto-Germanic form such as *walhiska-.[1]
It is attested in the Roman Iron Age Tjurkö Bracteate inscription as walhakurne "Roman/Gallic grain", apparently a kenning for "gold" (referring to the "bracteate" itself). The term was used by the ancient Germanic peoples to describe inhabitants of the former Roman Empire, who were largely romanised and spoke Latin or Celtic languages.
From *Walhaz to welsch
Walh is probably derived from the name of the tribe which was known to the Romans as Volcae (in the writings of Julius Caesar) and to the Greeks as Ouólkai (Strabo and Ptolemy).[2] With the Old Germanic name *Walhaz, plural *Walhôz, adjectival form *walhiska-, this neighbouring people of the Germanic people were meant some centuries before Christ. It is assumed that this term specifically referred to the Celtic Volcae, because by a precise application of the first Germanic sound change the exact Germanic equivalent *Walh- would have come out. Subsequently, this term Walhôz has rather indiscriminately been applied to the southern neighbours of the Germanic people, which is shown in geographic names such as Walchgau and Walchensee in Bavaria.[1] These southern neighbours, however, were then already completely romanised. Thus, by Germanic speakers this name was generalized first onto all Celts, and later onto all Romans. The Old High German Walh became Walch in Middle High German, and adjectival OHG walhisk became MHG welsch, e.g. in the Romance of Alexander by Rudolf von Ems-–resulting in Welsche in Early New High German and Modern German as the exonym for all Romanic speakers.
Today, Welsch is no standard German usage. This term is not only historical but also a more sophisticated and a little pejorative word to describe a Frenchman or an Italian.
Toponyms and exonyms Numerous names of non-Germanic, and in particular Romance-speaking, European regions derive from the word Walh, in particular the exonyms
Consider the following terms historically present in several Central and Eastern European, and other neighbouring languages:
Walh (singular) or Walha (plural) is a Germanic word, meaning "foreigner", "stranger" or "Roman", German: welsch. The word can be found in Old High German walhisk, meaning "Roman, in Old English wilisc, meaning "Romano-British" and in Old Norse as valskr, meaning "French". Thus it will be derived from an Proto-Germanic form such as *walhiska-.[1]
It is attested in the Roman Iron Age Tjurkö Bracteate inscription as walhakurne "Roman/Gallic grain", apparently a kenning for "gold" (referring to the "bracteate" itself). The term was used by the ancient Germanic peoples to describe inhabitants of the former Roman Empire, who were largely romanised and spoke Latin or Celtic languages.
From *Walhaz to welsch
Walh is probably derived from the name of the tribe which was known to the Romans as Volcae (in the writings of Julius Caesar) and to the Greeks as Ouólkai (Strabo and Ptolemy).[2] With the Old Germanic name *Walhaz, plural *Walhôz, adjectival form *walhiska-, this neighbouring people of the Germanic people were meant some centuries before Christ. It is assumed that this term specifically referred to the Celtic Volcae, because by a precise application of the first Germanic sound change the exact Germanic equivalent *Walh- would have come out. Subsequently, this term Walhôz has rather indiscriminately been applied to the southern neighbours of the Germanic people, which is shown in geographic names such as Walchgau and Walchensee in Bavaria.[1] These southern neighbours, however, were then already completely romanised. Thus, by Germanic speakers this name was generalized first onto all Celts, and later onto all Romans. The Old High German Walh became Walch in Middle High German, and adjectival OHG walhisk became MHG welsch, e.g. in the Romance of Alexander by Rudolf von Ems-–resulting in Welsche in Early New High German and Modern German as the exonym for all Romanic speakers.
Today, Welsch is no standard German usage. This term is not only historical but also a more sophisticated and a little pejorative word to describe a Frenchman or an Italian.
Toponyms and exonyms Numerous names of non-Germanic, and in particular Romance-speaking, European regions derive from the word Walh, in particular the exonyms
Consider the following terms historically present in several Central and Eastern European, and other neighbouring languages:
- in Polish: Włochy, the name of Italy, and historical Wołochowie - Romanians.
- in Hungarian: "Oláh", referring to Romanians, "Vlachok" referring to Romanians/Vlachs, generally; "Olasz", referring to Italians.
- in Serbo-Croatian: Vlah (влах) - to Romanians or other Romanian/Vlach subgroup.
- in Ukrainian: Voloh (волох) - to Romanians.
- in Russian: Valah (валах) - to Romanians.
- in Greek: Vlahi/Vlakhi (Βλάχοι) - to Romanians or other Romanian/Vlach subgroup (e.g. Macedo-Romanians, Megleno-Romanians, etc.)
- in German: Vlachen or Walachen - to Romanians of other Romanian/Vlach subgroups; Wallach - a Romanian horse, i.e. a horse that has been gelded, as the Romanians gelded their war horses for practical reasons. Kauderwelsch is a name for hybrid forms of German belonging to several different subcultures, and Rotwelsch is the language of traveller communities in Germany.
- in Czech and Slovak: Valach - to Romanians or to their Slavic-speaking descendants inhabiting Moravian Wallachia; a gelded horse.
- in Turkish: Ulah - to Romanians or other Romanian/Vlach subgroup.
- In Slovene: Laški, archaic name referring to Italians; it is also the name of several settlements in Slovenia, like Laško near Celje, or Laški Rovt near Bohinj. Laško is also the old Slovene name for the area around Monfalcone and Ronchi in Italy, on the border with Slovenia. These names are linked to the presence of larger nuclei of Romance-speaking populations at the time where the Slavs settled the area in the 6th century.