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#178659 - 08/12/08 09:12 AM French place names
Chatter Offline
stranger

Registered: 08/12/08
Posts: 2
Loc: California
Hi -- I am new to this site and hoping that it is OK to ask a non-English question. We live part time in Languedoc (just West of Provence) and a huge number of village names in the area end in '-argues'. Examples: Lansargues, Baillargues, Saturargues -- the list is endless. And of course, just to the South is Camargue (no 's' here). I have failed so far to find anything on the meaning or etymology of this suffix (?). Any hints?

thanks

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#178666 - 08/12/08 12:48 PM Re: French place names [Re: Chatter]
Zed Offline
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 08/27/02
Posts: 2064
Loc: British Columbia, Canada
Hi
Just wondering what the neighbouring languages are in your area. (High school geography was a long time ago.)

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#178668 - 08/12/08 01:01 PM Re: French place names [Re: Zed]
tsuwm Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 04/03/00
Posts: 9577
Loc: this too shall pass
Zed, if you check the thread above the salt* where nuncle addresses this question, you'll see a link to a very nice geographical type chart (read: map) which shows the frequency of -argues.

here's another, more specific to language.

*making the same post in two different forums usually only tends to divide possibly useful replies.

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#178673 - 08/12/08 03:46 PM Re: French place names [Re: Chatter]
BranShea Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 06/23/06
Posts: 3764
Loc: Netherlands, the Hague
[ Deleted superfluous post due to double running thread. ] {Back home to Nugacity}.

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#180822 - 12/10/08 04:30 PM Re: French place names [Re: BranShea]
LukeJavan8 Offline
old hand

Registered: 06/23/08
Posts: 1007
Loc: Frozenwastesistan
Just west of Provence. Could it be influenced by Provencal?
Isn't that a Latin offshoot?
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#180825 - 12/10/08 06:09 PM Re: French place names [Re: LukeJavan8]
zmjezhd Online content
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 08/13/05
Posts: 2476
Loc: R'lyeh
Isn't that a Latin offshoot?

Yes, Provençal is a Romance language (which means it's a descendant of Vulgar Latin). It is related to other langues d'oc (languages that use oc for 'yes') in the South of France: e.g., Occitan.

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#180838 - 12/11/08 11:17 AM Re: French place names [Re: zmjezhd]
LukeJavan8 Offline
old hand

Registered: 06/23/08
Posts: 1007
Loc: Frozenwastesistan
And was not Languedoc a former "province"? It seems like it was a place name before the revolution. In the era's of monarchical France.
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#180882 - 12/11/08 11:49 PM Re: French place names [Re: LukeJavan8]
zmjezhd Online content
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 08/13/05
Posts: 2476
Loc: R'lyeh
And was not Languedoc a former "province"?

Yes, the old monarchical provinces got broken up into smaller departments. The original province was the province of Provence. It was the first area outside of Italy that the Romans conquered: pro + vincia, the final morpheme related to vinco 'to conquer'. It later became a generic noun for 'province, jurisdiction, sphere of administration'.

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#180895 - 12/12/08 05:17 PM Re: French place names [Re: zmjezhd]
LukeJavan8 Offline
old hand

Registered: 06/23/08
Posts: 1007
Loc: Frozenwastesistan
Love it! There is so much to be learned, even for an old school teacher. Appreciate the update. The old French provinces were so romantic. Wine districts as well. Every so often they creep into one's life. Heard Aquitaine mentioned in an old movie the other day.
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#180905 - 12/13/08 01:38 AM Re: French place names [Re: LukeJavan8]
zmjezhd Online content
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 08/13/05
Posts: 2476
Loc: R'lyeh
Wine districts as well.

Yes, my personal favorite is currently Bourgogne 'Burgundy'. Etzel (Attila), Siegfried (Sigurd), and Kriemhilde (Gudrun, Brunhilda) are all associated with Burgundy, the place not the wine, and it's origin is in a Germanic tribe, the Burgundians.

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