Re: Languages in fiction: The Triune Monarchy

Jan van Steenbergen scripsit:

> I don't know any details, but AFAIK Valach/Vloch and similar expressions can
> relate to anything Romance. In Polish, _w£oski_ means "Italian".
As JRRT himself figured out, it's a Germanic word meaning "person who speaks
a Romance or Celtic language".  In Britain, where there were no Romani, it
was specialized to the latter meaning, and became "Welsh".  Elsewhere,
where there were no Keltoi, it was specialized to the former meaning, and
spread into the Slavic languages as such.

--
John Cowan           http://www.ccil.org/~cowan              cowan@ccil.org
To say that Bilbo's breath was taken away is no description at all.  There
are no words left to express his staggerment, since Men changed the language
that they learned of elves in the days when all the world was wonderful.
        --_The Hobbit_

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