Re: I'm back, and an 'ow' question ...

>From: John Cowan <jcowan@...>
>
>Andreas Johansson scripsit:
>
> > I was told it was from some local Slavic language, which I couldn't get
> > specified stricter than "not Sorbian". Can anyone here give more
> > information?
>
>Maybe West Baltic (aka Old Prussian)?
I had a feeling someone would suggest this, but I am sure Old Prussian was
spoken further to the east, and nearer the sea. When the Germanic tribes had
invaded the Roman empire, they had been followed behind in eastern Europe by
the Slavs, so that most of the old "East Germany" was Slavic and the Germans
were only as far east in the north as a longitude passing thru eastern
Denmark. When the Germans started espanding eastwards, starting around 800,
they overran the Slavs and eventually pushed into the Baltic area,
overrunning the Old Prussian speaking area. But that was further east, in
the north-west of what is now Poland.

>"Berlin" itself IIRC is a Baltic
>name, likewise other place names ending in "-in".
I didn't know that though.

Mat


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