Re: USAGE: Betreft: USAGE: surname prefixes

At 12:05 20/04/00 +0200, you wrote:
>Well, in Dutch there are some prefixes that indicate location or origin.
>van, van de and van der indicate somthing like 'belonging to'
>We also have 's <des (genitive) in placenames like 's Hertogenbosch
>(genitive-the wood of the duke) and 's Gravenhage (genitive-the wood
>of the count).
>
I know that 's Hertogenbosch is the official name of Den Bosch. Is 's
Granvenhage the official name of Den Haag?

>
>For the French people on this list: why is it Le Havre and not Havre?
>Is there a reason?
>
Because of its origin. It used to mean simply 'the harbour'. That's why the
article is used. About that, there are also strange things. My parents'
town is called Petit-Couronne, but its official name is Le Petit Couronne.
The strange thing is that in French, 'couronne': crown is a feminine word,
except in the name of this town and of a neighbouring town called
Grand-Couronne (which happens to be smaller than Petit-Couronne :) ).

As you see, names of towns in French have lost their meaning a long time ago.

                                                Christophe Grandsire
                                                |Sela Jemufan Atlinan C.G.

"Reality is just another point of view."

homepage : http://rainbow.conlang.org
(ou : http://www.bde.espci.fr/homepages/Christophe.Grandsire/index.html)