Slavic peoples

The Slavic peoples are the most numerous ethnic and linguistic body of peoples currently living in Europe. They are defined by speaking Slavic languages and reside chiefly in Central and Eastern Europe, but are also found in Asia. The idea that the Slavic people have more in common than their origin, the origin of their languages and some cultural aspects is derived from romantic nationalism, the panslavism movement and the notion of race as a biological basis of nations.

Etymology of 'Slav'

Even the origin of the word "Slav" remains controversial. In the Old Slavonic language that word is "slov?ne".

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There are obvious similarities to the word slovo meaning "word, talk". Thus slov?ne would mean "people who speak (the same language)", i.e. people who understand each other, as opposed to the Slavic word for Germans, nemtsi, meaning "speechless people" (from Slavic n?mi - mute, silent, dumb). Compare the Greek coinage of the term "barbarian".

Related Topics:
Mute - Dumb - Greek - Barbarian

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Another obvious similarity links "Slavs" to the word slava, that is "glory" or "praise". The word came about from the verb "slyti", "to be known about"; it arises from the corresponding causative verb, "slaviti".

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Sometimes "slav" is calculated to derive from "slov-" by the distinctly Russian phenomenon of akanie. Almost every Slavic nation which retains its initial name for "Slav" uses the word "slov?ne" for the meaning.

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Some linguists believe, however, that these obvious connections mislead.

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A false etymology popular in National Socialist propaganda, but also found in some older editions of the Oxford English Dictionary, connected Slav with slave. There is certainly no basis for this.

Related Topics:
False etymology - National Socialist - Oxford English Dictionary

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