|
Zelg | |
|
Nonet »Osti Jarej« from Podcetrtek (Lower Styria) | |
|
Venetic Names | |
|
Namigovanje na slovansko poreklo Venetov - Dr. Šavli's answer to Karantanska zaveza | |
|
Namens-Deutungen - Dr. Šavli antwortet | |
|
The very ancient »pirh« | |
|
Piz Corvatsch (3456 m) | |
|
Malinvern (2939 m) | |
|
Fiescherhorn | |
|
Mischabel | |
|
Lauenen | |
|
Kunz | |
|
Mont Cervin | |
|
Val Ferret | |
|
Aiguille Noire (3773 m) | |
|
El Golobar | |
|
Grand Golliaz (3237 m) | |
|
Jamtal | |
|
Piz Buin (3312 m) | |
|
Mont Dolin (2976 m) | |
|
Piz Lischana (3105 m) | |
|
Dammastock (3633m) | |
|
Piz Scerscen - (3967 m) | |
|
Wendenstock (3044 m) | |
|
Place Names | |
|
The Explanation of Names | |
|
An interdisciplinary approach is needed | |
|
A very remote heritage | |
| Namigovanje na slovansko poreklo Venetov |
 |
| Fiescherhorn (4049 m), južno od Gründelwalda (Švica). |
| Ime ne izhaja od ribe (Fisch), temvec od Viš. Takšnih slovenskh (venetskih ) imen je po Švici in po Tirolskem vse polno. Bila so izhodišce moje prve študije o Venetih ali Vendih, naših davnih prednikih (1985). |
| Dr. Jožko Šavli, August 25, 2008 |
| Na spletu Karantanska zaveza, objavljeno v cetrtek 19. januarja 2006, sem naletel na naslednjo objavo, ki je povzeta iz polemike o Venetih v 80. letih. V njej se pojavi tudi navedba mojega imena, to je dr. Jožko Šavli. Navajam najprej objavo v celoti (poudarki v barvah so moji): |
| V prilogi Znanost (dnevnika Delo) je 12. januarja 2006 izšel clanek Lucijana Vuge Novi dokazi o svetolucijski kulturi?, v katerem vprašaj pomeni namigovanje na slovansko poreklo Venetov in celo na ideje o neolitski prisotnosti Slovencev v vzhodnih Alpah. |
| Gre za še enega od ljubiteljskih ekskurzov v našo preteklost, ki se posredno sklicuje med drugimi tudi na slovenska jezikoslovca Karla Oštirja in Franceta Bezlaja. O venetski teoriji je Bezlaj v Delo (XXVII/253, 30. oktobra 1985) pod naslovom Namesto epiloga napisal naslednjo kratko izjavo: »Podpisani France Bezlaj izjavljam, da se ne morem strinjati z izjavami o Venetih in venetšcini Mateja Bora in dr. Jožka Šavlija, ceprav me oba veckrat citirata in se celo sklicujeta name. Ako bi njuno mnenje dozorelo tako dalec, da bi ga sprejela za objavo katera koli resna domaca ali tuja strokovna revija, bi bil pripravljen resno polemizirati z obema. Dokler pa se izogibata takšnemu v znanosti edino normalnemu postopku, ne cutim potrebe, da bi svoj cas in svoje moci trošil za primitiven diletantizem«. |
| Sanjarjenje o avtohtonosti Slovencev ima med ljubitelji že dolge korenine. Morebitnim novim navdušencem bi priporocil, da preden se prikljucijo tej drušcini preberejo Zbrane jezikoslovne spise I in II Franceta Bezlaja, kjer bodo spoznali raziskovalni nemir in obsežno znanje resnicnega raziskovalca. V zvezi z našimi predniki pa so vsekakor zanimive njegove misli, da »… Najstarejši sledovi slovenske jezikovne individualnosti segajo v cas pred približno dva tisoc leti …« (Etyma slovenica. Razprave SAZU VII, 1970, 155-181, 181) in »… Slovenšcina je mešanica razlicnih praslovanskih migracijskih tokov in vsaj za enega med njimi se da sklepati, da se je že pred zacetkom preseljevanja narodov odtrgal iz praslovanske skupnosti in se šele kasneje spet pomešal z mlajšimi plastmi. Ne vemo, kdaj in kje se je to dogajalo …« (Posebnosti slovenske leksike. Besede z zacetnim g-. Jezik in slovstvo XVI, 1970-71, 229-234, 234). S tem v zvezi na nekem drugem mestu zapiše (navedeno po spominu), da se je moralo že nekaj stoletij pred znanimi slovanskimi selitvami po Evropi potikati neko neznano slovansko pleme, ki je pustilo sledi v slovenski leksiki. To in nic drugega. |
| Razlicna ljubiteljska društva imajo pravico do svobodnega delovanja, vendar njihovi izdelki ne sodijo v prilogo Znanost. Ce si hoce Delo ohraniti ugled, naj objavlja le prispevke, ki jih je že ovrednotila uradna znanost z objavami v uglednih revijah. - Dr. Ladislav Placer, Ljubljana. |
 |
| Mt. Dolin (2976 m) nad krajem Arolla, južno od mesta Sion (Švica). V njegovem vrhu je v resnici dolina, po kateri ima svoje ime. |
| Odgovarjam: V gornjem primeru gre samo za navajanje stališca prof. Bezlaja, priznanega slovenskega jezikoslovca, ki je res nasprotoval teoriji o Venetih kot naših davnih prednikih in nam v svoji razdraženosti navrgel še »primitiven dilentizem«. Toda njegovo stališce ne more biti kaka dogma in sam prof. Bezlaj tudi ne neka neovrgljiva avtoriteta. Njegovo navajanje, da se je eden od selitvenih tokov ... že pred zacetkom preseljevanja narodov odtrgal iz praslovanske skupnosti in se šele kasneje spet pomešal z mlajšimi plastmi, je neka sled o Venetih, ki jo je zaznal, a je ni dorekel. Na obstoj »praslovanske skupnosti« (pra-Slovanov), ki ni nikoli obstajala, je sklepal samo na jezikovni podlagi. Njegovo sklicevanje na objavo teorije o Venetih v kaki domaci ali tuji reviji je bilo takrat še prezgodnje. Toda, pozneje so Veneti le obšli svet, od Evrope do Amerike. |
| Nekaterih dejstev pa se tudi prof. Bezlaj še ni zavedal, predvsem ne pomena imenoslovja, ki ga je umeval le v sklopu jezikoslovja. Tako ga je do neke mere obdelal npr. v dveh knjigah Slovenska vodna imena (1-2, 1956 – 1961), ki so kot študija lahko odlicno delo. Toda pristop do problematike kot takšne je zgrešen. Prof. Bezlaj se ni zavedal, da imena niso podvržena jezikovnemu razvoju, tako kot je jezik. Oblike imen in še posebej njihovi koreni se ohranjajo še potem, ko se je njihov pomen v živem jeziku že precej odmaknil. Pomena mnogih imen ni mogoce razložiti zgolj s slovenskimi in slovanskimi koreni, temvec z onimi, ki neredko izhajajo iz indoevropskega ali še starejšega obdobja. |
| Ce se prav spomnim, je prof. Bezlaj dognal, da je na našem ozemlju samo 6% vodnih imen slovenskih. Njihov pomen je namrec poskušal razložiti le v slovanskem jezikovnem okviru. Drave npr., ce se prav spominjam, ni izvajal od glagola dreti- »deroca« voda, Soca mu ni bila »blesteca« itn. Prav imenoslovje pa je bilo izhodišce študij in odkritij o Venetih. Z njim sem podpisani postavil temelje za njihovo odkritje (1985). Kmalu se je pridružil tudi Matej Bor, z razlago venetskih napisov. so sledili še drugi. |
| Mehanicno navajanje izjave prof. Bezlaja v stilu »papež je rekel«, kot je storil dr. Ladislav Placer, ni ravno posreceno. Za nekoga, ki se podpisuje z doktorskim naslovom, samo golo citiranje, brez lastnega pristopa do vprašanja, nedvomno ni dovolj. Za takšen namen zadostuje gimnazija ali kaka srednja šola. Pa brez zamere. |
| Carantha: Naše uredništvo sodi, da je dr. Šavli veliko storil za slovenstvo in za odkrivanje resnicne zgodovine Slovencev. - Prof. France Bezlaj, ugleden slovenski jezikoslovec, je bil verjetno dokaj prizadet ob tem, da se venetologi, ki so po Šavlijevi študiji (1985) zaceli odkrivati Venete, niso slepo podredili avtoriteti jezikoslovcev, v prvi vrsti prav njegovim študijam. Toda takrat je obstjala še Jugoslavija in ljubljanska univerza je bila podrejena beograjskemu režimu. Kako je Beograd tedaj gledal na slovenistiko, nam pove izjava samega prof. Bezlaja (Naši razgledi 1980, 588): Ko sem na nekem kongresu v Beogradu govoril o nalogah slovenistike, me je predsednik Aleksander Belic poklical k sebi in me opozoril, da mi bodo delali hude težave... V Ljubljani so poskušali sprožiti proti meni disciplinsko preiskavo... organizirali so celo sabotažo mojih predavanj na univerzi... |
| Omenjeni prof. Belic je bil po vojni mdr. predsednik srbske akademije SAZU, eden izmed pokroviteljev inštituta za srbo-hrvaški jezik (predhodnik »jugoslovanšcine«), pred drugo vojno pa tudi eden vodilnih prostozidarjev v Beogradu. Rekli bi, eden glavnih srbskih unitaristov, ki mu je bila identiteta Slovencev še posebej napoti. Omenjeni dogodek jasno kaže, kako je jugoslovanski unitarizem omejeval in pogojeval slovensko jezikoslovje in tudi samega prof. Bezlaja. Režim je postavljal mejo, do katere so smeli iti. V svoji prizadetosti, kot si lahko tolmacimo, se je prof. Bezlaj, ker se nad režimom ni mogel, znesel nad venetologi. Proti njim ni imel argumentov, zato naj bi bilo njihovo delo zgolj »primitivni diletantizem«. Toliko v vednost! |
| ~~ |
| Namens-Deutungen |
| oder das Problem der "100 Wahrheiten" |
 |
| Unter diesem Bild und Titel fand ich das folgende Zitat : |
| So stehen bald seine Nachforschungen unter dem Motto: "Je mehr ich weiss, desto weniger weiss ich". Besonders als er noch zur Kenntnis nehmen muss, dass lange vor den sächsischen Castrum Werlense eine Slawenburg Werle existierte (in Mecklenburg). Dazu passten dann auch folgende Kuriositäten: |
| 1. Das Buch Die Veneter (ISBN 3-85013-110-6) von Josef Savli. Der Autor vertritt die These der Alpenslawen (siehe Titelbild mit angeblich slawischen Toponomen im Gebiet von Zermatt). |
| 2. Die Theorien gemäss denen bestimmte Alpenbewohner Charakter und Körpermerkmale mit den Jugoslawen teilen (Die Ausbreitung der dinarischen Rasse, v. Eickstädt, 1934). |
| Dr. Šavli antwortet: |
| Leider verstand der Verfasser das Problem an sich nicht. Er macht keinen Unterschied zwischen Sprache und Ethnie, wenn es sich um das Volkstum handelt. Nach seiner Ansicht sollte man z. B. die Südamerikaner der Sprache wegen als Spanier und die Nordamerikaner als Engländer bezeichnen? In dem Buch über die Veneter (Šavli - Bor) ist von Alpenslawen überhaupt keine Rede. Die Frage der "dinarischen Rasse" haben wir überhaupt nicht angeschnitten. Es ist nur ein Refrain des Autors, um unsere Studie als unwahr hinzustellen. |
| Meine Nachforschungen im Bereich der alten Nomenklatur, einschliesslich der Schweiz, basieren auf einer gründlichen Prüfung der wendischen Namen, woraus sich die Existenz eines vorkeltischen Volkes, das Volk der Wenden (Veneter), ergibt. Es hat sich als Substrat bis heute erhalten. Die wendischen Namen sind vom Standpunkt der Linguistik "slawisch". Allerdings, in Mitteleuropa prädisponieren sie nicht die Slawen als Volk, das käme z. B. den Russen gleich, sondern wie gesagt, sie beweisen die Anwesenheit der Wenden. |
|
||||||||||
| by Dr. Jožko Šavli |
| In Slovenia, in the period after the WW2 the national feeling was very much alive. Among other things, one was anxious to speak a pure Slovenian language, which had several loan words. One of them seemed to be the word »pirh«, coloured egg. For Easter, people prepared coloured eggs, which can be a work of art. This occurs also in other countries, but as far as I know, coloured eggs are called »pirhi« only in Slovenia This name seems to be somewhat superannuated. Therefore, the lady school teacher preferred to call them »pisanice« (from pisati - to write). In fact, the preparing of coloured and decorated eggs is called »pisati pirhe« (to write coloured eggs). |
| We children were very attached to home traditions and we were refusing many things that were taught in schools of the communist period after the WW2. In fact, with regards to coloured eggs, people throughout Slovenia continued to call them »pirhi«, although the name »pisanice«, apparently pure Slovenian, was found in the region of Bela krajina, and another Slovenian name »rumenke« in the Pannnonian part. |
| After many years, I discovered that the word »irh« should be of Persian origin and means »written« or »coloured«. I was somewhat surprised, that in our village, where stock-farming existed, a popular name for a cow was »pirša« (pi'rsha), evidently from »pirha«. Names were given according to the colour of the animal. In our Tolmin region they were of red Pinzgau race. The colour of Pirša was red changing in nuances. Indeed, the very ancient meaning of »pirh« is changing colours. I found this word also in Austrian German in the form of Piers and similar. It is possible, that the name Irs for ox, as quoted in the story by Prežihov Voranc (Irs in Bavh), in origin was Piers. |
| Anyway, in modern Slovenian the word »pirh« is only a relic. The corresponding verb is »pisati« (to write). But we still encounter the old saying »jablka se pišejo« (literally: the apples are writing themselves), meaning they are maturing (changing colours). Thus, »pirhi« has the same meaning as »pisanice« of Bela krajina, although in more recent Slovenian. The name »pirh« not only shows its very ancient origin, the Indo-European or even pre-Indo-European, it also shows the very ancient origin of the same custom of colouring eggs. |
|
||||||||||||||||
| by Dr. Jožko Šavli |
| Piz Corvatsch (3456 m) rises in the Bernina mountain group, south of St. Moritz (Switzerland). The visitor is surprised by its Slovenian name, which literally means "curved" or "crooked". It is true, that the crookedness of its summit can clearly be seen on this picture. Researchers of Alpine nomenclature cannot imagine the one-time presence of Slovenians in Switzerland. Therefore, they are trying to interpret the meaning of the word from the Latin "corvus" (crow). Crows should fly at such altitudes above the summit? Impossible! The fact is, that the ancient Vends (Veneti), the forerunners of the Swiss, at one-point in time spoke a language similar to modern Slovenian. Slovenians are also decendents of the Vends. They preserved the Vendic language, which is today's Slovenian with some changes, but its roots remained the same. On the other hand, the Swiss adopted the present-day German language. Apart from this, the tradition and culture of the Alpine people still bear witness of their original Venetic ethnicity. (Feb. 24, 2007) |
|
||||||||
| by Dr. Jožko Šavli (Jan. 7/07) |
| Lauenen is the name of a site in the proximity of Gstaad (Switzerland). There is also a Lauenental and Lauenenhorn (2479 m). The same name bears reference to two tiny lakes in the valley. The original name is lava, which still exists in Slovenia (for example in the Savinja Valley). It refers to a pool or plash, not to a real lake (Badjura). In Slovenia, this word and name is already rare, but to our surprise it still exists in Switzerland and it certainly is of Venetic origin. The name received the German form: Lauen sing. and Lauenen pl. |
| Zelg |
 |
| Dr. Jožko Šavli |
| Zelg is a word and name in the German speaking area of Switzerland, which denotes a farm with a unique large piece of land. In the above picture, we see such a zelg, found in the canton Wallis. In this case, the tilled grounds are a bounded or terraced collection of fields. The origin of this word cannot be explained in German language. But we were very surprised to find the same word in Slovenian. It derives from cel (pron. tsel, meaning entire, whole), and in its literary form it is written as celek. It is generally pronounced in the abbr. form cel'k, like the Swiss zelg (z > c, g > k). The Zelg - celk represents an important social - historical witness. It is found outside of Slovenia, but still in an ancient Vendic area. In the course of the centuries, a great part of this area eventually became Germanized. This occurred from the linguistic and not from the ethnical point of view. Thus, the previous Vendic agrarian, social and cultural structure continued to exist. The Zelg - celk is an agrarian unit, which pertained to the individual family. The village community of the Vends was composed of family dwellings, among which the field was divided. The social structure of the Southern Slavs, based on the great family with the common field, (like the zadruga or rod in the Balkans), did not exist in the social organization of the Vends and their successors, the Slovenians. |
| Nonet »Osti Jarej« from Podcetrtek (Lower Styria) |
 |
| Dr. Jožko Šavli |
| In Slovenian, a »nonet« refers to a polyphonic singers' group consisting of nine members. There are many all over Slovenia listed under different names. But we were somewhat surprised to hear, that toward the end of last year the nonet group of Podcetrtek (Lower Styria) calls themselves »Osti Jarej«. It is about a Venetic inscription found on the situla from Škocjan on Karst (kept in the Museum of Trieste). The inscription was deciphered by Matej Bor on base of the Slovenian language: Osti (dial. form of »ostani« - stay), Jarej (from jar - young), thus: Remain Young! - The members of this group range from the age of 14 to 30, and they are part of the Youth Association of Podcetrte. Their aim is, to bring the most wide selection of Slovenian songs to the young generation of Slovenia. They are performing at numerous meetings, celebrations, and anniversaries. In their program we find the Slovenian hymn and patriotic songs like Slovenian homeland (Slovenska domovina), Triglav, Slovenec sem (Slovenian I am), Vecerni ave (Evening Ave), Legenska, Pobratimija (Brotherly friendship), O mraku (At nightfall) and many others. |
| by Dr. Jožko Šavli |
| In my paper called Veneti, our remote ancestors (Vienna 1985), which was published in Slovenian and introduced a new scientific branch called Venetology, I dedicated some chapters to »Slovenian« names of mountains and other place-names, which in great numbers appear in Switzerland. They bear witness that, at one time, this territory was settled by the ancestors of the Slovenians. They spoke a language, which was very close to the Slav languages, in particular to Slovenian. Anyway, they cannot be identified with the Slavs, who, it is true, are a linguistic and not an ethnic group. |
| In the above mentioned interdisciplinary research was discovered, that they were a pre-historic and pre-Celtic people. They were the ancient Veneti, the bearers of the Urnfield culture (after ca. 1200 BC) and of the Hallstatt culture (after ca. 800 BC), who left their cultural imprint on Central Europe. Linguistic and ethnical researches show, that only the Veneti could have been the predecessors of the Slovenian people. Still today, one has to wonder, how the meaning of numerous topographical names in Switzerland and other areas, which never experienced any Slav migration waves, can be explained only on hand of the Slovenian language. |
| Kunz |
| this family name is of Venetic origin |
 |
| The end of the Wipp Valley (Tyrol) |
| by Dr. Jožko Šavli |
| Kunz, the very common family name in the German speaking area of Europe, is in fact of Venetic linguistic heritage. Its meaning can only be explained through the Slovenian (modern Venetic) literary form "konec" (the end). But the word is usually pronounced in abbreviated form as "konc" (pron. konz); other dialectal forms are kuonz, ku'nz, or kunz and kanz.. Which term is the original one? The name refers to a farm or a group of farms found at the end of a valley (konec - das Talende, in fondo alla valle). The owner of such a farm was simply called Konz, or Kunz - the one living at the end (of the valley). In Slovenia, name forms like Konc, or Koncan (pron. kontchan) are easily understood and recognized. The form Koncan also appears as Kancan (o > a) in the Italian speaking area of Canciani . - On the above picture we see some farms at the end of the Wipp Valley (Tyrol). In the background rises the imposing peak of Tribulaun (3096 m). |
| Mont Cervin |
 |
| by Dr. Jožko Šavli |
| Mont Cervin (4482 m) they call the proud Matterhorn peak on its southern side. In this name the word »cervin« derives from ceren, an ancient Venetic word meaning a rock, or cliff. The word also appears in the form of cerven, which in Slav languages means »red«. Consequently, this name was wrongly translated: in Italian as rosso (red), and in German as rot (red). Therefore, we find in the Alps names like Cima Rossa and Rotspitze. In the Alpine area, after the diffusion of German, the word cerven was also an intended derivation of the Latin cervus (deer), and was consequently translated as Hirsch (in German, deer in English). Therefore, we find names like Hirschberg (1670 m) above Tegernsee (Bavaria), or Hirserspitze (2781 m) above Meran, and so on... - Around the Matterhorn peak other Venetic (Slovenian) names can be found. In the valley under the peak, the magnificent Gorner Gletscher (-gletscher - glacier) is trailing toward the mountain chain of Monte Rosa. Its name evidently derives from gorna, a channel. In several areas of Slovenia (like in Tolmin) it means a water outlet channel. In the middle of the glacier there are two gentle places called Plattje (Obere, upper and Untere, lower): plat (a gentle post on a slope) and -je (formative ending). Above the glacier rises the Lyskamm (4538 m), a crest with a smooth slope (lys-), like Piz Lischanna (liscio, in Italian). A complete surprise is the Velik Joch (4068 m): velik, great in Slovenian; Joch, (mountain) pass, in German. The Dent d'Herens peak, a neighbour of the Matterhorn, is also called Mont Tabor (4180 m)... |
| Val Ferret |
| Dr. Jožko Šavli |
| Val Ferret is the name of the valley, which leads from Val d'Aosta (Italy) to the passes of Col du Grand Ferret (2536 m) and Col du Petit Ferret (2489 m), connecting them with another valley of the same name in the Canton Valais (Switzerland). The word "ferret" reminds people of iron (fer, in French, ferro in Italian). Therefore, the given explanation for this name and similar others leads to the "logical" conclusion, that at one-time iron ore was loaded on wagons and taken through the valleys like those. In fact, iron ore was transported through other valleys, too. - Once again, the true meaning of this name can be explained with help of the Slovenian (Venetic) language. It is connected with the name Vrata pl. (literally doors), found in the Julian Alps (Slovenia). In this example we can also see the phonetic development in the pronunciation and the consequent writing of the name Val Ferret: v'r > ver > fer (ferret). The original meaning of the word stem v'r we see in the Slovenian verb "vrteti" (to turn around). In fact, the "vrata" (door) is turning around, but at the same time it is an opening to something. In this meaning, the name Vrata (v'r-ata) was given to a valley, which opens the way through a mountain chain. |
| Dr. Jožko Šavli |
| Aiguille Noire (3773 m) is the name of the peak of the well-known Mont Blanc chain of mountains. In French, the first part of the name »aiguille« means needle, and is normally given to several spires (like Bergspitze, in German). In this context, it is the second word »noire«, literally meaning black, which is not comprehensible. Why »black«? The question can only be resolved by taking into account the fact, that it is a wrong translation of the Venetic (Slovenian) word ceren (pron. tcheren), adjective of cer, meaning a reef, a cliff. In the various dialects, the adjective form is often pronounced with semivowels cer'n or even c'r'n. But crn (pron. tch'rn) normally means black. In this way we encounter many »black« peaks in the Alps, like Schwarzhorn (in German), or Monte Nero (in Italian) and similar, which was caused by the wrong translation of ceren, cern and crn... In Slovenia, we find similar names of this kind with the primordial non-palatalized forms ker and krn. So, the well-known panoramic peak Krn (2245 m), which rises above the Soca Valley, indeed had the shape of a great reef. On Italian maps, it was first written as Crn. Later, it, too, was wrongly translated as Monte Nero. |
| El Golobar |
 |
| by Dr. Jožko Šavli |
| El Golobar is the name of the slope under the peak of Valdecebollas (2143 m), which rises in the Cantabria mountain ridge (Spain). Its name is identical with that of a mountain pasture called Golobar (1257 m), which is found in the surroundings of Bovec in the Julian Alps (Slovenia). In Slovenian, it is easy to explain the meaning of this name: golo- (nude) and the ending -bar (an ending, which means superficies). Thus, a very nude terrain without trees and shrubs... One finds the same phenomenon on the picture of the Golobar in Spain. How did this name come about in Spain? - It can only be a name, which has been preserved to this day from a very ancient period, the so-called Afro-European period (before 2000 BC). It was in the late period of the young Neolithic era, when according to archaeologists, a very similar shepherd's culture extended from Northern Africa across Europe until the Urals and beyond. The people of this culture spoke a language, of which a considerable amount of vocabularies remained preserved in the Venetic (the modern Slovenian), and especially in the Basque language. Many words are remarkable similar in both languages. - I think, from this period survived also several »Slovenian« names in Northern Africa like Zagora (Marocco), meaning »behind the mountain«, or Goriani (Libya) meaning a »high lying site«, and so on. (cf: article: Venetic names) |
| Grand Golliaz (3237 m) |
 |
| by Dr. Jožko Šavli |
| Grand Golliaz (3237 m) rises on the frontier between Val d'Aoste (Italy) and Vallais (Switzerland). Also in this case we are talking about a Venetic (Slovenian) name, the meaning of which can only be referred to the word gol (nude, bare). Thus, a great mountain of bare rocks. Sometimes we find the name spelled as Golliat, which I think is the remainder of an older name form, that existed in the Venetic language before the palatalization t > z (c). Another possibility is, that the original word was Goliatec, which later transformed to Goliat’c, and then developed into Goliat and Goliac. It seems that this phonetic change in the Venetic language can be traced back to the Roman era. In my opinion it also influenced late Latin, in which, for example, the original Kikero gradually began to be pronounced as Cicero, as it is still known today. |
| (cf: article: Venetic names) |
| Jamtal |
 |
| by Dr. Jožko Šavli |
| Jamtal is the name of a valley in the Silvretta mountain group, which is located between Engadin and Vorarlberg/Tyrol. The root of the name can only be referred to the word jama (pron. yama), which in Slovenian means cave and also a closed mountain valley. Evidently, this name is to be considered a legacy of the ancient Veneti (Sloveneti), too. In the same mountain group, we find other Venetic (Slovenian) names. One of the most interesting among them is Ochsental (oxen valley). Nevertheless, this name is an incorrect German translation of Voje (like Voje Valley in Bohin, Slovenia). The original name was Logje, from log, meaning in general a wooded plain with scarcely grown with trees and brushwood, but also a closer part of a valley (Badjura). The dialectal phonetic development was as follows: l > v (u): Logje > Vogje, omitting of g: Vogje > Voje. The word »voje« was understood as »voljé« (oxen) and incorrectly translated. Now, we have there the Oxen Valley. |
| (cf: article: Venetic names) |
| Piz Buin (3312 m) |
 |
| by Dr. Jožko Šavli |
| Piz Buin (3312 m) is the highest peak in the Silvretta mountain group, which is found between Tyrol/Vorarlberg (Austria) and Engadin (Switzerland). According Dr. Henrik Tuma, the well-known Slovenian nomenclature scholar, its name derives from the grassy surface found under the peak. In Slovenian (Venetic), such a terrain is called planja (pron. planya). But there are several phonetic variations in Slovenian dialects: p > b and l > u (Carinthia), diphthong ai etc. In this way somehow the word »planja« is still today pronounced as »puain'«, from which finally the word »buin« derived. But this variation of songs must have occurred already in the pre-Roman, i.e., in the Venetic period. Charles Bryant - Abraham, the well-known linguist (California, USA) was right: the Venetic language, which was the predecessor of Slovenian, had already dialects. His statements confirm the Venetic - Slovenian origin of many mountain names in Switzerland. I think, Prof. Kronsteiner's standpoint, according to which the Alpine inhabitants spoke Ladino after the decay of the Roman empire, needs to be reviewed. |
| Mont Dolin (2976 m) |
 |
| by Dr. Jožko Šavli |
| The peak is found above the Arolla Valey, south of Sion, in the French speaking part of Switzerland. Its name is identical with the Slovenian word dolina (a valley). Indeed, a valley divides the summit of this mountain. Other Venetic names of mountains are to be found in the surroundings. Mountain Aiguilles Rouges (3650 m) contains two wrong translations: the original name form was Rt (a jutting summit), which in German writing appears as Ort or Rot, then, translated into French it became Rouge (red). The nearby Mont de l'Etoile (3372 m) can only be a translation of St'rm (abrupt), written in German as Stern and then translated as Etoile (star), etc. Until the WW2, the remainders of a Slav dialect were preserved in the nearby Val d'Anniviers. There, the centre of the valley is called Visoye, literally a »high-lying site«. |
| (cf: article Venetic Names) |
| Piz Lischana (3105 m) |
 |
| by Dr. Jožko Šavli |
| The summit rises 3105 metres and is located south of Scuol in Lower Engadin (Switzerland). The root *lys in this name is to be found in several names, not only in Switzerland, but also elsewhere in Slovenia as for example Lisec (1653 m) in the Bohinj mountain ridge. Furthermore, it appears in several other localities, like Colle de Lis and Lisio (Piemont), Lissero near Florence, and so on. The meaning of this root evidently coincides with that of the Slovenian verb »lizati« (to lick). In Slovenian, at the sight of a bare rock or slope one still says today »iz-lizan« (licked up). Indeed, the slope of Piz Lischana shows a bare slope, which from far away really looks like »licked up«. The name Lischana is evidently a Rhaeto-Romanic writing of »lizana« (gora - mountain) only. |
| (cf: article Venetic Names) |
| Dammastock (3633 m) |
 |
| by Dr. Jožko Šavli |
| This amazing peak, with such an uncommon name, is the highest mountain in the Winterberg range, north of the Furka Pass in central Switzerland. In spite of its German form, the actual root of this name has another origin. It is a Vendic or Venetic name. Its meaning can be explained in terms of modern Slovenian vocabulary and grammar, which is probably the most pristine descendant of the ancient Vendic language. In German, the word -stock means »peak«; but the first part of the name Damma- is evidently a corrupted form of the toponym Dana or Dnina, which derives from the etymon dno (bottom, Boden). Dr. Henrik Tuma, a well-known Slovenian scholar and leading authority on the subject of nomenclature, explained the meaning of this toponym as a »low plain in the high mountains« (Niederung im Hochgebirge). Indeed, as we can see on the picture above, there really is a low plain of sedimentary rock under the summit of the Dammastock. |
| (cf: article: Venetic Names) |
| Piz Scerscen - (3967 m) |
 |
| Dr. Jožko Šavli |
| Piz Scerscen (3967 m). I was totally surprised, when I came across this name on the ordinance-surway map of the mountain group called Bernina (Switzerland). It is about a Slovenian name. Its meaning is connected with the Slovenian verb »sršiti« (to bristle), which today refers only to feathers or hair of animals. Evidently, at one time, the meaning had a more general extent. When we observe the image of this peak, we soon perceive that the name perfectly corresponds to that meaning. The summit of the mountain really is »na-sršen« (serrated), like a bristle, or beards. It is unknown to us, at what point in time the Slovenians settled the Swiss territory. Indeed, in this case the name does not remind us of the modern Slovenians but rather of our ancestors, the ancient Veneti. They left their imprint on Switzerland's mountains and regions, the meaning of which can be only interpreted through the Slovenian language. |
| (cf: article Venetic Names) |
| Wendenstock (3044 m) |
 |
| by Dr. Jožko Šavli |
| The rock walls of the Wendenstock (3044 m) mountain arise abruptly south of the town of Engelberg in central Switzerland. Its name literally means »Vendic stock« and it remains as a reminder of the presence of the early Veneds (Veneti, Venden). In the surrounding area appear a variety of other Vendic names: Wendenwasser (brook), Wenden Alm (Alpine meadow), Wendengletscher (glacier)... They are proof, that a Vendic speaking isle remained intact for a very long time, even though the inhabitants of the neighbouring territories spoke prevailingly German. |
| The language of the ancient Vends or Veneti came close to the Slav languages, in particular to Slovenian and Sorbian. Anyway, the majority of the modern Slavs are not descendants of the Vends, for they adopted this language very probably together with the Vendic agriculture, which was widely-spread in Eastern Europe. The Vends were people of Middle Europe still in the pre-Celtic period. Indeed, all over Middle Europe, in the present-day German speaking area, we find Vendic names in great numbers, the meaning of which can be explained on hand of the Slovenian and Sorbian languages. |
| Place Names |
| A question concerning not only the ancient Veneti, Slavs... |
| by Dr. Jožko Šavli |
| In my paper Veneti, naši davni predniki (Veneti, Our Remote Ancestors, Vienna 1985) I explained, based on the Slovenian (Slav) language, many place names, which still can be found today all over Central Europe. However, the recorded history of the Slavs (the ancestors of Slovenians?) does not mention traces of settlement in the majority of this territory, and we have to ask ourselves the question, which people and culture left these names behind. Through an interdisciplinary study it was possible to establish, that the people in question were the Veneti, the bearers of the Urnfield culture (after 1200 BC) and of the Hallstatt culture (after 800 BC). They obviously spoke a language, which was close to modern Slav languages, in particular to the Slovenian one. |
| The study, in which the Veneti have been individuated, shows clearly, that the modern Slav peoples are not an ethnical group but only a linguistic one. Therefore, they could not have originated from the supposed "ancient Slavs", the homeland of which is assumed to be behind the Carpathian Mountains, but was never found, and the search is still going on. Thus, the "ancient Slavs" never existed as an ethnic group. They have to be regarded strictly as an academic and ideological construction. |
| This ascertainment is very important for the correct explanation of the meaning of place names. Still today, this explanation is appropriated first of all by the linguists and Slavists. They took the question into their exclusive competence and they interpreted the meaning of place names based on linguistics only. In this regard, several linguistic works can be adduced as an example. I have on hand a very interesting book called Die Slawen in Griechenland (The Slavs in Greece), written by Max Vasmer, the well-known German linguist and Slavist. The work was published by the Academy of Science (Berlin, 1941). |
| Vasmer's work is an interesting study. The author reveals a very large number of place names found on a territory, which extends from the Epiros and Macedonia to the Peloponesos Peninsula. Based on these names, the author assumes that the first settlements of the Slavs were carried out during the early Middle Ages. At the same time he decisively rejects the possibility, that the Slavs in Greece, who he supposedly individuated, have been an autochthon people there. |
| However, the density of the names in question, which he designates as "Slav", is so great, that they under no circumstances could have been a legacy of the supposed sporadic Slav incursions and settlements in this territory. The names could only pertain to an autochthon people, very probably to the Pelasgians, who in the period of the ancient Greeks settled the inside of the Greek peninsula. Thus, it is not about the "Slav" names as such, but about the names belonging to a language, which according to my studies was also spoken by the ancient Illyrians, Thrakians, Dakians, as well as by the Veneti and the (continental) Celts etc. |
| I think, the aforesaid language must have been, more or less, a continuity of the Indo-European and pre-Indo-European, spoken by ethnological very different peoples. The vocabulary of the modern Slav languages, in particular the archaic Slovenian, are very close to this ancient language. But this fact does not predispose the existence of a common ancestral people, in this case the existence of the "ancient Slavs". |
| The Explanation of Names |
 |
| View of the ancient Provlakas channel (today's Xerxes) on the Athos Peninsula (Greece). The course of the channel is indicated with hatches. |
| Indeed, Max Vasmer has done great work by collecting vast numbers of names in Greece, which he considered to be of Slav origin. In several cases his explanations are ingenious and instructive. As example, I am quoting the name Provlakas, as the one-time Xerxes canal (Athos) was called. Still today, this name points to the one-time towing of ships through the canal (cf. pro-vleci, in Slav languages: draw or tow through). A similar case represents the name Prevesa (preveza, Überfahrt, crossing) found at the sea strait in Aetolia... The name Volos, explained as "golos", (from gol, nude, i.e., an area with very scarce vegetation), is a senseful explanation, and so on. |
| The problem of correct understanding appears in cases of place names, which Max Vasmer interprets only in a linguistic way, i.e., by the meaning of an apparently Slav etymon related close to it. For example, the name Avarikos (p. 10) should derive from Avorne, Ahorn-ort (in Slav languages: javor) meaning a maple-tree. In fact, it can only be explained with the word aur (sun) > jaur, i.e., a sunny site. It is only a coincidence that the name coincides with that of the maple-tree. - The name Berstia (p. 146) does not derive from berst, in Slovenian: brest (Ulme, elm). It is certainly a form from the Indo-European *bhers (to rise sheerly). - The name Varen (cf. Varna, in Bulgarian, p. 234) does certainly not derive from vrana (Krähe, crow). It can be sensefully explained with the Slovenian "v' ravnah" (in the plains). |
| Further on, Orehovo (p. 96) is not a Nußort (a place of nut-trees), but rather evidently connected with "vrh" (summit, top). - The name Visentekon (p. 23) certainly is not connected with "višnja" (Kirsche, in fact Weichselkirsche, i.e., marasca ), but it derives from "visok, višji" (high, higher). - The definition of the name Misina (p. 94), meaning Mäuseort (from miš, Maus, mouse) is definitely wrong. Its possible meaning reflects more on the name Meißen - Mišin, connected with the locality of the area chiselled into the valley by the Elbe River. Thus, from the verb meißeln (to chisel). - Vasmer explained the name Svina (p. 172) as Schweineort (a site of pigs). But it derives very probably from "zviti" (to fold), meaning a curved crest... |
| The linguists are making a great mistake, when they imagine, that the nomenclature is only a linguistic question. Even the most important Slovenian linguist, France Bezlaj, in spite of his great knowledge, gave several incorrect explanations concerning the meaning of hydronyms and toponyms. In fact, people named their place rather in sense of the morphological forms of the superficies, i.e., after the visual outlook. I adduce an example, which Vojko Rutar (Dobrovo, Slovenia) brought to my attention. |
| The name of the village Vipolže (close to Dobrovo) is explained by Bezlaj on hand of the Russian language: vypolzkovskije žiteli, i.e., "freemen", he states: "It is about the ancient-Slav dialectal juridical term, which was brought to us (i.e., in Slovenia) by the same migration wave, which formed the nucleus of the Novgorod Russia" (Fr. Bezlaj, Eseji... p.104). But it is certain, that he never saw the geographical position of Vipolže, a village situated on an incline, which arises from the plain. The meaning "vy polje" (out of the plain, field), in the older form "vy poljane" pl. (j > ž). The supposed migration wave of the Slavs might have occurred, but the name Vipolže certainly is not a proof. |
| An interdisciplinary approach is needed |
| The existence of a one-time ethnical group in a certain territory cannot be individuated only on base of preserved place names. For this purpose an interdisciplinary method must be used. |
| When I encountered for the first time a multitude of place names in Switzerland and in other areas of Central Europe, the meaning of which could have been clearly explained on base of the Slovenian language, I did not venture to say, that at one-time these territories were populated by Slovenians or Slavs. Seen from the interdisciplinary standpoint of view, I started to research the individuation of peoples' ethnical appurtenance, which left behind the aforesaid names. |
| This way I detected the presence of the linden as the tree of life in the villages (like in Slovenia for example), and not the oak, which was the popular tree of life of the Celts and Germans. In the preserved social structure there were no traces of the Celtic clan or German kinship, only the traditional village community. This is the same community, which has been preserved by Slovenians and by the peoples of Central Europe, but it is not found among other the Slavs, whose social organization was the great family (zadruga, rod). |
| Archaeological studies and finds clearly show that these ethnic groups were the successors of the bearers of the Urnfield (after 1200 BC) and Halstatt cultures (ca. 800 - 400 BC). Many scholars, like G. Devoto, individuated them as the ancient Veneti. Their statement was confirmed by many names with Venet- or Wend-, which still today are to be found in Tyrol, Switzerland, Germany, etc. All these elements do not bear witness of the presence of the "ancient Slavs", as some linguistics would have concluded on base of the Slovenian or Slav names preserved in this territory. |
| It clearly states, that these people were an autonomous ethnicom, whose name was Veneti (ancient). In my opinion, they were for the first time clearly identified as being the bearers of the Urnfield and the Hallstatt cultures. Of course, the scholars encountered these people already a long time ago, but because of the names they considered them to be "Slavs". They could not imagine them in any other way and therefore, the Veneti appear in scientific literature only as the "bearers" (of the Urnfield and Hallstatt culture). Opposite to them, the posterior Celts, the bearers of the La Téne culture (ca. 400 - 15 BC), have been individuated by their very name without any problems. |
| A very remote heritage |
 |
| Position of the city Zagora (Morocco), which in the true sense of its name is located »behind the mountains« of the Atlas ridge. |
| Based on the aforesaid facts the picture clearly shows, that the language question has to be considered apart from the ethnic origin. To illustrate this, I would like to adduce some "Slovenian" names, which still today can be encountered in Northern Africa. |
 |
| The bends on the road, which on the abruptly slopes of the desert plain lead to the height of the plateau. There is the village of Garian (like Gorjane, in Slovenian), situated about 113 km south of Tripoli (Libya). |
| For example, in Morocco we find the city Zagora, which in Slovenian means »beyond the mountains«. Indeed, this city is located beyond the Atlas mountain ridge. In Algeria, we encounter the city Brèzina, meaning a "gentle incline of the mountain" in Slovenian language. Its environment really corresponds with the translation. South of Tripol, in Libya, the site Garian (717 m) is located at the edge of a plateau. The corresponding Slovenian name (a > o) is Gorjane (pron. goriane), a site on a higher ground. In the great desert appear numerous names with the source attachment Bir, like Bir Tarsin, Bir Iar... In Slovenian the word "vir" (b > v, betatism) really means "a source". |
 |
| The oasis Siwa (like in Slovenian Živa) in western Egypt is 82 km long and 2 to 20 km wide, with more than 600 vital water sources. |
| The famous oasis between Libya and Egypt is called Siwa, and its name has the same meaning as the Slovenian "živa", a source of fresh water. Indeed, the oasis is full of such sources. Near the Suez Canal we find the name Gharib (1751 m), and on the Golan plateau (Syria) there is a Kafer Harib. In Slovenian, a "hrib" is a medium high mountain. The name Tabor in Palestine is equal to many Slovenian names, meaning a "fortress on a higher place". The same name is also found in Ethiopia. There, we encounter among other names also Gara Mullata (3381 m). In Slovenian "gora" (a > o) means a mountain, and the dialectal word "mulast" means nude. Etc, etc. |
 |
| Kafer Harib on the Golan plain (Syria). In Slovenian, the word »hrib« means a medium high but not rocky mountain. Like the hill on this picture. |
| In sense of the method used until now by the linguists and Slavists, one must come to the conclusion, that at one-time the territory of Northern Africa was populated by Slovenians, too. Nobody can imagine this, and he is right not to do so. But the & |
