diction and contradiction

[X99Lynx at aol.com]

In a message dated 7/7/01 12:41:14 AM, bronto at pobox.com writes:

<< Slightly closer to topic, why is Italy called <Olaszorsza:g> in Hungarian?
(I was in Urbana yesterday, popped in to the Slavic & East European
department of the university library, where I once had a job; and happened to
see there a Hungarian map of Europe.)>>

I think you'll find a bit of a discussion that mentions this in the archives,
involving also the Volcae, Welsh, Walloons, Walha, Valsk, Wolochs, Vlachs,
Wallachia, Blacorum and maybe even Gaul.  The name has had many applications
over the years across Europe.

My notes have the following explanation:
"The Slavic word of the 10th century, <vlach>, was, in its plural form:
<vlasi>, borrowed into the Hungarian with the sense  of 'neo-Latin/neo-Roman,
Frank,' in the form <olasz(i)>.  In the period of Arpad, this was the
Hungarian name for any neo-Latin people, including the Franks (cf., Latin
'Frankavilla' > Hungarian 'Olaszi'), and it is also at present the Hungarian
word for 'Italian.'"

Regards,
Steve Long