rone | that's not my fucking name!

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that's not my fucking name!

alfvaen mentioned Czechia and commented:

I don't even know the origin of the spelling "Czech", since Czech itself doesn't seem to spell it that way--it looks more Polish, perhaps.

Of course, the Czechs call it "Česká Republika", but calling them "Ceska" (say Cheska) seems to be out of the question. Same for India, which the locals call Bharat. And where did Japan come from, when they call themselves Nippon? How did Cymru turn into Wales? These are the things that make my brain itch.

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"Wales" is probably English, and became the name for the region because English became the dominant language/culture. That's usually how these things go.

BAH. *handwave*

when librarians attack.

Here (http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Welsh).

I really oughta bookmark that site. Thanks.

hmm, it looks suspiciously like a generic term meaning "dirty foreigner".

Thank you for that link. I have wondered about the etymology about many words.

As an aside,

tongodeon and I often wonder about the etymology of many ASL signs. Some make sense and some are "why the heck does that sign mean that?!"

as for the rest of your question, iirc, it's all a bunch of traders... Greek traders started calling the area some form of india (around the Indus river), and Japan was (iirc) from portuguese traders corrupting a chinese word for japan. Wälsch or other things that sound like 'Welsh' means 'gaelic' in german dialects. Dunno of that's related to Walloon or now.

The cite I posted says yes re: Walloon. The compiler's creds look pretty good so I'd guess he's probably right, plus my faint memory of Bright's and attempting to read Beowulf tell me it looks like an Old English word.

that colon get permanently affixed to the perfectly good English word "re"? It's not an abbreviation, people. It's a simple Latin borrowing.

I thought it was short for "regarding".

Apparently, from Portuguese and possibly Dutch mistransliteration of Chinese names for Japan. (http://www.japan-zone.com/omnibus/facts.shtml)

Nippon -> Japan has always bugged me. But then, it could be just as bad... how does Hrvatska become Croatia?

That one i can kinda see, but it's still lame.

Of course, Croatians gave us the necktie, and for that they must pay... FOREVER!

over on the other side of the Black Sea, in Georgian, "v" undergoes pretty drastic phonetic processes in connection with both "r" and "o." A hypothetical (and probably nonexistent) prefix and preradical vowel "rv-a-" could conceivably become "-vro-a-" in combined forms.

Also Deutschland being referred to as Germany or Allemagne, and Ελλάς as Greece.

In Ireland the answer is generally "because the English did it" with few if any exceptions. Dublin started out as "Dubh Linn" which is Gaelic for "Black Pool" although it was called this in the days when it was a viking settlement, so perhaps it actually comes from a similar-sounding norse phrase. Anyway, the English came along, made Gaelic more-or-less illegal, and converted all the Gaelic names to English ones, thus rendering the city's name as Dublin. At some point since then, Dublin has been given the Gaelic name "Baile Átha Clíath", meaning "Town of the Ford of the Hurdles". Damned if I know why.

The obvious side effect (see "Where Canada Got Its Name") also happened: there's a bunch of places in Ireland called "Stradbally" which translates to "Village". Stupid invaders.

No good reason except you made me think of it:

"Liverpudlian Lucy."

I keep wondering about what to call the region but never follow up on it. I do still wonder, though, if that anglicization was actually used back in the 18th century. The author states that "Česko" was used then, but only implies that the various translations may also have been used.

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