Elite Dominance/Practicality

[X99Lynx at aol.com]

In a message dated 12/1/2000 11:00:14 PM, cristim at smart.ro writes:
<< Again to the best of my knowledge, apart from the Slavs, the following
language groups were represented in the Pannonian plains (roughly
post-Trianon Hungary) at some stage during the period between 300 and 1000
A.D.:
-Turkic and other Altaic languages: Avaric (see below), Bulgar, Cuman, Hunic,
Pechenegue.

-Germanic languages: Eastern Gothic, Gepidic, Baiuvaric ( questionable)

-Uralic languages: Hungarian

-Romance languages: Old (or Common) Romanian (Urrumaenisch, according to the
terminology used by Puscariu,1916).>>

Just a quick note. Add in (first millenium AD):
- Celtic inscriptions were found in Pannonia dating from the 4th century AD.
The Boii are placed in Pannonia as their new home by Ptolemy in the 2d
century AD.
- Iazyges Sarmatians held the land just east of the big bend in the Danube in
Pannonia about 250 AD and for some time afterward.
- Early "Germanic" tribes listed by Roman and Greek geographers (e.g.,
Scordisi).
- Dacian. (Many old maps of the Empire put the west border of the province
Dacia at about the river Tisza.)  I believe Thracian inscriptions have also
been found, 4th c. AD.  These may have been associated with Legion settlements.
- Classic Latin (as opposed to Old Rumanian).
- Byzantine Greek
- Frankish?

<<The actual fact of the possible co-existence of some (or most) of these
languages on a small territory should not , in my opinion, be judged by
comparison with some or another American state. Rather, we should think that
the period we are discussing is that of the great migration of peoples:some of
the above cited populations were just "passing through", others stayed for
smaller or longer periods of time, some others wandered back and forth in
search of better grazing fields etc. Furthermore there was no question yet of
a centralized state, standardized languages etc. >>

Well, really what you have is a major thoroughfare going through the region -
the Danube and a number of important river junctions - and that would have
attracted diverse people to "set up shop" simply on the basis of economics.
In such a situation, the advantage might go to those who could speak many of
the languages at any moment in time.  Or to those who adopted a more
universal language that could transcend the differences between languages.
There was a period of time when Latin would have satisfied that function.
But with its passing as the universal tongue, the region would have been ripe
for another common language and Magyar might have supplied it - without the
Magyars ever forcing anyone to speak the language.

Regards,
Steve Long