Re: proto-romance questions

Nik Taylor <fortytwo@...> wrote:

> Well, n~ in Spanish is frequently derived from nn, which came from mn,
> so domina -> domna -> donna -> don~a, an I think it's _duen~a_ in Modern
> Spanish.
Actually both; _duen~a_ means 'owner' (fem.), and _don~a_ is a title,
corresponding to masc. _don_ as in 'Don Quijote'. But it's quite
obsolete now; I only hear it referring to old people, or in ceremonies
(as in the presidencial assumption the other day -- they said
"Sen~or Doctor Don Fernando de la Ru'a". Terribly pompous.


--Pablo Flores
  http://draseleq.conlang.org/