Slavs and nemtsy

[Iskra Iskrova]

There are two discussions going on around the etymology of 'Slave'. I am not
etymologist, but I would like to add some info coming from Southern Europe.
I thought that a flavor coming from other geographical areas than Russia
might give ideas for further investigations.

Prior to the arrival of Proto-Bulgarians on the territory of ourdays
Bulgaria in the 7th century, between the Danube and the Balkan chain were
leaving the so called 7-Slavic tribes. They have been settled there for
centuries after the extinction of the Thraces. What I have studied in my
Balkan culture classes is that since the Thrace period, Greeks were taking
slaves in this area. These slaves were sent as far as Egypt and actually
there were numerically important groups of ethnic Slaves there. This fact
would be the origin of the ethymon: 'those who are made slaves'.

As for the term 'Nemec', in Bulgarian, as well as in other Slavic languages
already quoted, 'njam (sg.), nemi (pl.)' means 'speechless, mute'. At some
historical period (sorry I am recalling facts from classes taken 10 years
ago!) there were numerically important groups of German workers in the mines
in Central and Southern Europe. Since there was no linguistic
intellegibility with these Germans, they have been called 'nemci' with the
meaning 'the mutes, the ones who cannot express temselves'. The idea of
'being the ones who speak' vs. 'those who are unable to speak' is common in
ethnonyms all over the world. I agree with the idea that this contact
between the two ethnic groups should have happened early in the history of
Slaves in order to have such a wide diffusion of the ethnonym 'Nemec'
accross Slavic languages.


Best,

Iskra.

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