Re: CHAT: weird names,was Re: conlanging,the ultimate feminist

alypius wrote:
>
> >Tom Wier scripsit:
> >
> >> Wouldn't the Turkish name <Istanbul> more likely come from Greek
> >> <Konstantinopolis> rather than Latin?
>
> Istanbul if from a Greek expression that means "to the city."
>
>   Afterall, Latin made practicly
> >> no inroads in the more developed eastern end of the Empire.
>
> Well, don't forget about Roman-ia, "land of the Romans," and cradle of one
> of the 6 modern Romance languages.  (Can anyone name all 6?)  ~alypius
        I can! These are French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian and a
language I don't know the name in English but in French we call it
"romanche" (spoken in Switzerland). In fact, these are not the only six
Romance languages (there are also Occitan and Catalan, for example), nor
the only ones to have an official status (Catalan is recognized as the
official language of Catalunia, with Spanish), but they are the only
ones to have a status as the official language of a state (one of the
offical language of the state in the case of Romanche which shares this
place with French and other languages, maybe German and another one I
don't remember).

        Correct me if I'm wrong but that was still true five years ago.

--
        Christophe Grandsire

        Philips Research Laboratories --  Building WB 145
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