Once again on the pre-Celtic substratum in the British Islands

Михайлова, Т.А.

doi:10.31826/jlr-2012-080112

Cited by 1 publication

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“…the dominant language). The English term brock (= badger), for example, derives from the Proto-Celtic term *brokkos and is a testament of Britain’s Brythonic past prior to the Anglo-Saxon invasions [ 18 ]. The survivability of a given zoonym is enhanced when the animal in question is accompanied by some kind of chthonic beliefs, which must be concealed from conquering elites, or when it possesses pharmacological properties that are known only by a select group of people, such as healers [ 19 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Toad zoonyms mirror the linguistic and demographic history of Greece

Davranoglou

Embirikos

2023

PLoS ONE

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The common toad (Bufo bufo) has been the subject of many folk tales and superstitions in Western Europe, and as a result, it is characterised by numerous common names (zoonyms). However, the zoonyms of the toad and its associated traditions have remained unexplored in the Balkans, one of Europe’s linguistic hotspots. In the present study, it was attempted to fill this knowledge gap by focusing on Greece, where more than 7.700 individuals were interviewed both in the field and through online platforms, in order to document toad zoonyms from all varieties and dialects of Greek, as well as local non-Greek languages such as Arvanitika, South Slavic dialects, and Vlach. It was found that the academically unattested zoonyms of the toad provide an unmatched and previously unexplored linguistic and ethnographic tool, as they reflect the linguistic, demographic, and historical processes that shaped modern Greece. This is particularly pertinent in the 21st century, when a majority of the country’s dialects and languages are in danger of imminent extinction–and some have already gone silent. Overall, the present study shows the significance of recording zoonyms of indigenous and threatened languages as excellent linguistic and ethnographic tools that safeguard our planet’s ethnolinguistic diversity and enhance our understanding on how pre-industrial communities interacted with their local fauna. Furthermore, in contrast to all other European countries, which only possess one or only a few zoonyms for the toad, the Greek world boasts an unmatched 37 zoonyms, which attest to its role as a linguistic hotspot.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%