Sino-nymic (was Re: Haiku & Toponymics)

[Fredrik]

Yes, what I meant by funny looking was smth like Midjareiki.
I would prefer S(e)inaland more.

What I never have understood is the modern form in english, swedish 
etc. with ch resp. k in the beginning instead of s like in latin.
Why ain't it Sina in english and swedish??

Perhaps a gothic name could be just Sina or Seina.

About names of countries etc. that aint attested ones is a question 
for discussion.
You might think it could be good to imagine what the name could've 
been at the time when gothic still was spoken if they heard of it.
It it quite obvious that names like Peru and Zimbabwe werent know to 
them, so we cannot even imagine such words in the spoklen gothic.

Since we are trying (at least am I trying) to create a gothic 
language fit for modern use it cannot be what it was before the time 
for extinction. It will become neogothic and not "classic" gothic.

My opinion for neogothic is that we can use our knowledge about the 
world and with that in mind give names to present countries etc.
Nothing will be around for ever. Countries will fall and new will 
rise during time. The countries at the time when gothic was spoken 
arent the same as now. And in the future it wont be the same as now.
We have to create new names for the new countries when these will be 
risen.
Well...maybe not we if we are dead by then, but our descendants. 
Those who will continue the project of reviving gothic when we're 
gone.


--- In gothic-l at yahoogroups.com, Guenther Ramm <ualarauans at ...> wrote:
>
> 
> 
> Fredrik <gadrauhts at ...> wrote:    > As you said, literal 
translation can be funny looking. Think about 
> > how China would be translated to.
>    
>   Just some ideas to the topic.
>   The Goths could have heard about China in Constantinople (or even 
met some Chinese tradesmen (?), but it's doubtful that a Chinatown 
existed there about that time :) or they could have been told of it 
by Huns (who are usually identified with Hsiung-nu of the Chinese 
annals). As it's quite unclear whether any reminiscence of the Middle 
Empire had been kept in some way by the European Huns, and in what 
sound form it could exist in Hunnish, it seems advisable to proceed 
from some Graeco-Latin word for "China". I'm not sure about precisely 
that period, but in Late Latin the common name of China is Sina 
(hence "sinology"). It could be *Sinaland, or *Seinaland if the vowel 
was long. In the latter case it should be reckoned with that Seina is 
attested in Gal. 4:24, 25 for the Mount Sinai: 
aina raihtis af 
fairgunja Seina in thiwadw bairandei, sei ist Agar; Seina fairguni 
ist in Arabia... The adjective being *s(e)inisks and the ethnonym 
maybe *S(e)inos M. –a Pl. or *S(e)inans M.
>  –n Pl. (?)
>   Given a scarcely possible chance that someone of the Goths might 
have learned Chinese (!!!), we could suppose a calqued translation 
like *Midjareiki of those two hieroglyphs for "China" [zhong] & [guo] 
which I was said to mean "middle" resp. "state". The people could be 
then *Midjareikjans / -jons M./F. –n Pl. (meaning "citizens of China" 
rather than "ethnic Chinese"). That a phonetically closer gawi could 
be used for [guo] is perhaps an option, though gawi is more likely to 
designate some smaller territory (like NHG Gau), maybe it would 
better refer to a particular province, like Tibet is (for now) 
a "gawi" of China?
>    
>   So how you like that?
>    
>   Ualarauans
>    
>   P.S. "Chinatown" would be *S(e)inatun N. –a. (with a long [u:])
>    
>   P.P.S. No, *S(e)inatun looks more like the Chinese Wall. 
For "Chinatown" – perhaps *S(e)inabaurgein N. –a or *S(e)inagatwo?
>   
> 
> Send instant messages to your online friends 
http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com 
> 
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>






------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> 
Get to your groups with one click. Know instantly when new email arrives
http://us.click.yahoo.com/.7bhrC/MGxNAA/yQLSAA/wWMplB/TM
--------------------------------------------------------------------~-> 

You are a member of the Gothic-L list.  To unsubscribe, send a blank email to <gothic-l-unsubscribe at egroups.com>. 
Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gothic-l/

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
    gothic-l-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
    http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/