Where do terms like "Anglo, Russo, Sino, Greco, Franco," etc. come from? Why do some nations seem to have these types of monikers while others do not? If i love France, I'm a francophile. If I love England, I'm an anglophile. What am I if I love Germany?
An etymology question
- Thread starter Keirador
- Start date
The Last Conformist
Irresistibly Attractive
Germanophile, I suppose.
They're Latin compound forms of ethnonyms. Since the (Neo-)Latin for "German" is germanus, it ought be "germanophile".
That they don't exist for all countries is because not all ethnonyms have a tolerable well-known Latin version.
They're Latin compound forms of ethnonyms. Since the (Neo-)Latin for "German" is germanus, it ought be "germanophile".
That they don't exist for all countries is because not all ethnonyms have a tolerable well-known Latin version.
The Last Conformist
Irresistibly Attractive
The name of a people or ethnic group. Eg, "American", "Englishman", "Pakistani", "Dane".
Keirador said:
There is a Vatican council whose sole job it is to meet yearly and determine the proper Latin names for current concepts such as "computer" and "baby-sitter". They produce about 20 words each year.
I've only ever heard "allophone" and "allophile" used, and my French-speaking is probably influencing me here. A Google search, however, reveals that "germanophone" and "germanophile" are, in fact, much more common.
The Last Conformist
Irresistibly Attractive
There's a such institute and it's know as the Roman Catholic Church.
I suppose there isn't a fixed term post which all new Latin words are "Neo-Latin", but the term basically applies to Latin that postdates the Rennaissance Humanists' attempt to replace Medieval Latin with revived Classical Latin.
The 16th century was when English began to borrow Latin words in a big way, so probably the forms, as far as English is concerned, dates from the last few centuries.
I suppose there isn't a fixed term post which all new Latin words are "Neo-Latin", but the term basically applies to Latin that postdates the Rennaissance Humanists' attempt to replace Medieval Latin with revived Classical Latin.
The 16th century was when English began to borrow Latin words in a big way, so probably the forms, as far as English is concerned, dates from the last few centuries.
h4ppy
You sir, pineapple?
If this is latin then wouldn't it come from Allimani. (or whoever the ancient Germans were)
The Last Conformist
Irresistibly Attractive
The Latin version of "Allemagne" is Alemannia, but that only refers to the SW bit of modern Germany, roughly the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg.
The Last Conformist
Irresistibly Attractive
In Antiguity, there wasn't any Germany arround. There were alot of tribes that the Romans collectively called germani, which of course is the source of the modern country-name, but it included for instance also the Scandinavians, and various eastern groups like the Goths.h4ppy said:
The Alemanni were only one such tribe. The modern French name for Germany derives from the fact they were the ones just across the border.
Akka
Moody old mage.
Well, in fact, I've really never heard the word "allophile". "Germanophile" is the one I've always seen.Taliesin said:
The Last Conformist
Irresistibly Attractive
Is allo- used as a prefix meaning "German" in any other French words? It's annoyingly similar to Graeco-Latin allo- "other", as in "allophone".
The Last Conformist
Irresistibly Attractive
No, they're not. Goths, Vandals and Langobards have only made a tiny contribution to the modern Italian gene pool.Keirador said:
The word ought to be italo-, as in "italophile".
Of course, there's a separate form romano- referings to Romans, as in "Romano-British".
Addendum: Trying to give a list of less common ones is dangerous; many forms exist, so to speak, in potentia. It's possible no-one's ever used the form "scanophile" before, but in the right circles it would be understood.
Riesstiu IV
Deity
The Last Conformist said:
I don't know. During the decline of the Roman Empire there was a severe decline in the population of the Italian peninsula, and many northern Italians seem to share physical features similar to that of Germans.
Mathilda
Queen
I would have thought 'scandiphile' or 'scandophile'.The Last Conformist said:
While the Goths and Vandals rampaged through but eventually left Italy, I am under the impression that the Lombards (Langobards if you prefer) had a massive impact on the gene pool, in fact genetically dominating at least Northern Italy. The Byzantines, whose genes became a mix of Roman and Near East peoples, reasserted dominance into Southern Italy, radically changing the gene pool there as well. Eventually, the Romans were just outbred by the more fecund recent arrivals to their peninsula.The Last Conformist said:
The Last Conformist
Irresistibly Attractive
There aren't any hard genetic borders in Europe; all peoples look pretty much like their neighbours, but if you go far enough the accumulated differences add up to the rather marked difference in looks 'tween, say, Swedes and Sicilians.
The Goths aren't recorded as having lived in Germany BTW. They first turn up in modern Poland, then immigrate to the Ukraine, and then the Balkans before ending up in Italy. (Not all researchers accept the identification of the early Goths at the Baltic with those turning up generations later in the Ukraine.)
Edit: The big point, tho, is that modern genetic surveys have concluded that the Germanic contribution is very small. Since even the declined Roman population of Italy in the dark ages counted in the millions, and the Germanic invaders probably in the tens of thousands, that should not be surprising.
The Goths aren't recorded as having lived in Germany BTW. They first turn up in modern Poland, then immigrate to the Ukraine, and then the Balkans before ending up in Italy. (Not all researchers accept the identification of the early Goths at the Baltic with those turning up generations later in the Ukraine.)
Edit: The big point, tho, is that modern genetic surveys have concluded that the Germanic contribution is very small. Since even the declined Roman population of Italy in the dark ages counted in the millions, and the Germanic invaders probably in the tens of thousands, that should not be surprising.
