Walha

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Brass replica of the Tjurkö Bracteate showing the attestation of the name Walha
Brass replica of the Tjurkö Bracteate showing the attestation of the name Walha

Walh (singular) or Walha (plural) (ᚹᚨᛚᚺᚨ) is an ancient Germanic word, meaning "foreigner" or "stranger" (Welsh) or "roman", German: welsch. The word can be found in Old High German walhisk ‘Roman’, in Old English wilisc ‘foreign, non-English, Cymric’, in Old Norse as valskr ‘French’. Thus it will be derived from an Proto-Germanic form such as *walhiska-. [1]

It is attested in the Roman Iron Age Tjurkö Bracteate inscription as walhakurne "Roman/Gallic grain", apparently a kenning for "gold" (referring to the "bracteate" itself). The term was used by the ancient Germanic peoples to describe the inhabitants of the former Roman Empire, which were largely romanised and spoke Latin or Celtic languages. Today in German, Welsche refers to Latin (or Romanic) peoples: the Italians in particular, but also the French, thus the Romanic neighbours of the German speakers in general.

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[edit] From *Walhaz to welsch

Walh is probably derived from the name of the tribe which was known to the Romans as Volcae (in the writings of Julius Caesar) and to the Greeks as Ouólkai (Strabo and Ptolemy). With the Old Germanic name *Walhaz, plural *Walhôz, adjectival form *walhiska-, this neighbouring people of the Germanics were meant some centuries before C. It is assumable, that this term specifically referred to the Celtic Volcae, because by a precise application of the first or Germanic sound shift the exact Germanic equivalent *Walh- would have come out. Subsequently, this term Walhôz has rather indiscriminately been applied to the southern neighbours of the Germanics, which is shown in geographic names such as Walchgau and Walchensee in Bavaria. [1]. These southern neighbours, however, were then already completely romanised. Thus, by Germanic speakers this name was generalized first onto all Celts, and later onto all Romans. Old High German Walh became Walch in Middle High German, and adjectival OHG. walhisk became MHG. welsch, e.g. in the Romance of Alexander by Rudolf von Ems – resulting in Welsche in Early New High German and Modern German as the exonym for all Romanic speakers.

[edit] Toponyms and exonyms

Numerous names of non-Germanic European regions derive from the word Walh, in particular the exonyms:

→ see also Vlach and Etymology of Vlach

but also in several other Eastern European languages:

  • in Polish: 'Włochy', the name of Italy, and historical 'Wołochowie' - Vlachs
  • In Hungarian: "Oláh", referring to Romanians; "Olasz", referring to Italians, "Vlachok" referring to Vlachs, generally.
  • In Slavonic: Stari Vlah ("the Old Vlach") region around the city of Užice, and the name Starovlahs for the medieval local Celto-Slavic population

→ See also History of the term Vlach

In Western European languages:

  • in English:
    • Wales, Welsh
    • Cornwall (with the suffix -wall)
    • In English usage the words Gaul and Gaulish are used synonymously with Latin Gallia, Gallus and Gallicus. However the similarity of the names is probably accidental: the English words are borrowed from French Gaule and Gaulois, which appear to have been borrowed themselves from walha-. Germanic w is regularly rendered with French gu / g (cf. guerre = war, garder = ward), and the diphthong au is the regular outcome of al before a following consonant (cf. cheval ~ chevaux). Gaule or Gaulle can hardly be derived from Latin Gallia, since g would become j before a (cf. gamba > jambe), and the diphthong au would be incomprehensible; the regular outcome of Latin Gallia would have been *Jaille in French.[2][3]
  • Numerous attestations in German:
    • in village names ending in -walchen, such as Straßwalchen or Seewalchen, mostly located in the Salzkammergut region and indicating Roman settlement
    • In German Welsch or Walsch, outdated for "Romanic", and still in use in Swiss German for Romands.
    • in numerous placenames, for instance Walensee and Walenstadt, as well as Welschbern and Walschtirol (now almost always Verona and Trentino), also in:
    • in several German exonyms like: Welschkohl, Welschkorn, Welschkraut [4]
    • The walnut was originally a Welsh nut, i.e. it came through France and/or Italy to Germanic speakers (German: Walnuss, Dutch Okkernoot or Walnoot, Danish Valnød, Swedish Valnöt)
    • There is a street in Regensburg named Wallengasse, once inhabited by Italian merchants. In other German places like Duisburg one can find a Welschengasse, or an Am Welschenkamp, referring to French speaking inhabitants [4]
    • In Southern Austria, "welsch" is a prefix that generally means Italian. E.g. the wine variety "welschriesling", common in Styria, Slovenia, Croatia and Hungary (actually not related to the white riesling variety). It is often used as a rather sweeping, pejorative word for the nearest people of Latin/romanic origin (the remaining neighbours of Austria being "Tschuschen" - Slavs - and "Piefke" (Germans).
    • "Kauderwelsch" (Danish: "kaudervælsk", Norwegian: "kaudervelsk") is a German word for gibberish and derives from the Rhaetoroman dialect from Chur in Graubünden in Switzerland, cf. Dutch koeterwaals.

→ See also http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsche

[edit] Pennsylvania Dutch

In Pennsylvania German, "Welsch" generally means "strange" as well as "Welsh," and is sometimes, although with a more restricted meaning, compounded with other words. For example, the words in Pennsylvania German for "turkey" is "Welschhaahne" and "Welschhinkel," which literally mean "French (or Romanic) chicken". "Welschkann" is the word for maize and literally translates to "French (or Romanic) grain." The verb "welsche" means "to jabber."

[edit] Welsch/Walsch in family names

The element Wels(c)h/Wals(c)h also shows up in family names:

  • in German and Dutch:
  • in English:
  • Slavic:
    • Vlacho (forename, also for Blaise)
  • Greek:
  • Jewish-Polish:
    • Bloch, a Jewish family name, that derives from Polish Włochy
  • in Polish:
    • Włoch, Wołoch, Wołos, Wołoszyn, Wołoszek, Wołoszczak, Wołoszczuk, Bołoch, Bołoz

Historic persons:

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Arend Quak 2005: 'Van Ad WELSCHEN naar Ad WAALSEN of toch maar niet?', in: [1] (nl)
  2. ^ Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology (OUP 1966), p. 391.
  3. ^ Nouveau dictionnaire étymologique et historique (Larousse 1990), p. 336.
  4. ^ a b c d e Ad Welschen: 'Herkomst en geschiedenis van de familie Welschen en de geografische verspreiding van deze familienaam.' part II, in: Limburgs Tijdschrift voor Genealogie 30 (2002), 68-81; separate bibliography in: Limburgs Tijdschrift voor Genealogie 31 (2003), 34-35 (nl).
  5. ^ Konrad Kunze: dtv-Atlas Namenkunde, dtv 2004, p. 89, ISBN 3423032669
  6. ^ Sveti Vlaho i Dubrovnik
  7. ^ Robert Elsie: The Christian Saints of Albania. In: Balkanistica 13/2000, p. 35-37 (web document, home.olemiss.edu)

[edit] See also

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walha"
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