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From: abrodnik@daisy.uwaterloo.ca (Andrej Brodnik (Andy))
Subject: Re: Development of Slavic Languages?
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References: <3nogf4$qtp@netnews.upenn.edu> <3p4dih$7aq@decaxp.harvard.edu> <3pghgs$kj4@decaxp.harvard.edu> <19MAY199511471525@cc.weber.edu>
Date: Sat, 20 May 1995 22:20:47 GMT
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In article <19MAY199511471525@cc.weber.edu>,  <helliott@cc.weber.edu> wrote:
>The explanation I was given several years ago
>is that "slav" means "speaker" or "one who can speak
>(our tongue)."   As opposed to Nimitz, which is either Polish
>or Russian (I believe) for a German, which means "mute"
>ie., "one who cannot speak (our tongue)."
>It would be nice if someone could corroborate this
>for me.

True. ``Slaviti'' means ``to speak'' and you can find it all Slavic
languages: even two Slavic nations' names are from this root (Slovaks
and Slovenes). On the other hand, ``Nemec'' is not only met in Polish
and Russian, but also in all South Slavic languages. What is more
interesting is that it is found in languages of peoples who are
bordering by Germans and there it is also a derivation from the same
root as ``mute''.

Andrej
