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#178659 08/12/08 01:12 PM
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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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Hi
Just wondering what the neighbouring languages are in your area. (High school geography was a long time ago.)

Zed #178668 08/12/08 05:01 PM
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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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[ Deleted superfluous post due to double running thread. ] {Back home to Nugacity}.

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Just west of Provence. Could it be influenced by Provencal?
Isn't that a Latin offshoot?


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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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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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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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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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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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