From the mid-fifteenth century translation into Spanish of Peter Apian‘s Cosmography: The towns of the Duchy of Saxony. – Wittemberg, Witenberga. 30.30/51.50. – Halberstat, Halberstadium, 28.38/52.11. – Lunenborg, Luneburgum, 27.50/54.0. – Braunsvick, Brunsuicum, 28.0/52.34. – Embeck, Embica, In this region they make very good beer. 27.32/52.6. – Lebenberg, Leoburgum, 28.2/54.10. – Hal, Hallis Saxoniae, 26.49/51.41.…
While we’re on things Flemish, I’m afraid I have a tendency to disbelieve shibboleth stories. The big one in these parts is that of the brave Flemish-speakers identifying the craven French-speakers after a battle in 1302 by politely asking them to say “scilt ende vrient”. That’s debunked by Bill Poser here. An alternative version has…
Vincent Pinte, commenting at Technologies du Langage, suggests that the “de” between the “Dominique” and the “Villepin” that denominate France’s deranged and disastrous prime minister need not necessarily evidence noble origins. Apparently–I certainly wouldn’t know–medieval prostitutes customarily used only one name, their first, and were subsequently assigned surnames on the basis of their location, eg…
Many Americans think that the 100 days business began with FDR, while the French think that Villepin stole it off Napoleon (and many wish him a similar fate). I don’t know who was first, but (useless information starts here): A certain cardinal Miçer Napoleón was granted 100 days (and one year: damn) partial indulgence in…
There’s a curious note in the part of Alfonso X’s General estoria (ca 1280s) where he’s listing the languages spoken by Japheth’s descendants, sensibly identified early on as Europeans by European bible scholars:
Crocodiles have no tongue; frogs have half, because it’s backwards, attached at the front and free at the back; men have one, the best of all, because with it they speak all languages and imitate every animal, as the philosopher Archidamos said; sea foxes [raposas marinas] have two, as I have said; women have three, because they talk with their mouth and with their fingers and heart, and their tongues are rough and sharp, like those of cats and leopards.
Rodrigo Fernández de Santaella, Vocabulario eclesiástico (1499) says that a bilingual person is one who sings a different song depending on his location or conversational partner, a two-tongued [serpent]: Bilinguis y hoc bilingüe. quien dize vno aqui otro alli o vno a este y otro a aquel. E por esso se dize que tiene dos…
There certainly are similarities between the languages spoken by the Welsh and the Indians, but these particularly Indians don’t live in Asia. You see, the Welsh discovered America. (Is the tale of Robin Hood and Indian Dark an echo of this? Should Malcolm Muggeridge have said that the last Welshman would be an Indian? I…