LL-L "Names" 2008.01.18 (03) [E]

[Lowlands-L List]

L O W L A N D S - L  -  17 January 2008 - Volume 03
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From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
Subject: Names

Hi, Marcel!

Under "Language varieties" you wrote:

The same has happened to *Wallonië*: There *is* a Walloon language, but it's
one of the Romance languages spoken there, although it's the largest
language spoken there. But in Wallonië people also speak Luxemburgish,
Limburgish, Lorrein, Champenois and Picardian, but we call them Walloons, so
we can categorise them as 'French' speaking. The words "Waal" and "Walloon"
mean "stranger", so I'm not so fond of this word for the linguistic status
of the southern half of Belgium; it neglects the regional languages spoken
there, and it reduces Romance inhabitants of the Lowlands as "strangers"

Two quick things about this:

   1. The English version of Dutch *Wallonië* is Wallonia (Walloon *Walonreye
   ~ Waloneye*, French *Wallonie*, German *Wallonie*, Luxembourgish *
   Wallounien*).
   2. It is true that *Waal* etc. has been variously interpreted as
   "stranger." The other, probably original and remaining meaning is something
   like "Romance-speaking" from "Romance-speaking Celtic." The group of names
   is related to "Gaul," "Gallic," "Gaelic," "Wales," "Welsh," *welsch*,
   *Wallis*; cf. French *gallois* for 'Welsh'. In this sense I don't see
   anything negative in it, but perhaps it's different for Dutch speakers.
   Large tracts of formerly Celtic-speaking Europe became Romance-speaking, and
   Germanic speakers therefore identified any Romance variety (practically all
   of which had Celtic substrata) as "Welsh." It was only later that this name
   came to be extended to mean "others" and "gobbledigook" (e.g. German *
   Kauderwelsch*).

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron
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