From “Uitoduro” to “Winti”: how place names change

As long as a language is alive and in use, it is constantly changing. This also applies to names, which are part of the language. Thanks to their extensive and often far-reaching documentation, place names are particularly suitable for observing linguistic developments as they change over time.

A good example of a place name change is Winterthur. The Roman city (lat. vicus) with a fortress is considered the origin of the second largest city in the canton of Zurich Vitudurum in today’s Oberwinterthur district, on the important route between Lake Geneva and Lake Constance. Dendrochronological analyzes of excavated Roman wooden buildings place a foundation in the first decade BC. near.

The Latin place name Vitudurum (first documented around 280 AD) is originally Celtic. The Roman vicus must therefore have been built on an existing Celtic settlement, even if this could not be proven archaeologically. The population in Roman times consisted mainly of Romanized Celts.

From the gelatinized form Vitudurum could be celtic * Switched off reconstruct, composed of Celtic out- “Weiland; possibly also a personal name” and the Celtic place name ending –duron «prop. door, gate». * Switched offand therefore Winterthurmeans something like «Willow Gate, Willow Farm, fence woven of willow branches», possibly also «Marketplace of Uito».

The Celtic place name ends -duron is also included Solothurn (*Salódŭrōn “Marketplace on the water” or “Marketplace des Salo”). And many other Celtic place names in Switzerland have survived to this day, such as tuna (to donate «palisades, castle, fortified place»), Yverdon (*Eburodunon «fortified place of the Eburos or the Yew») or Zurich (* Turicon «Settlement of Tūros»).

With the integration of present-day Switzerland into the Roman Empire at the turn of the century and the accompanying rapid change in colloquial language from Celtic to Latin, the Celtic place names were romanized (Salódŭrōn > Salodurum, Dūnon > Tunum, Eburodūnon > Eburodunum, Turīcon > Turicum).

At the same time, some new Latin place names emerged, such as August/Kaiserauugst (lat. *Augusta Rauricorum «Augustus-Stadt in the area of ​​the Rauriker») or Koblenz (lat. * confluence “Confluence”).

Far more numerous than the purely Latin place names are Celtic-Latin hybrids, such as the many place names op -eight): laughing in bedAlpnach, kiss night etc. In the first part of the word there is a Latin personal name and in the second part of the word the Celtic place name ending in -akosgelatinized -battery. These mixed names reflect the linguistic conditions in the Romanized Celtic society of the vast Alpine region.

With the migration of the Alemanni to what is now German-speaking Switzerland from the 6th century AD, another language change took place. The Alemanni founded many new cities (for example with the endings -ings, -icon, -village or -want to), but also took over many existing settlements – and adapted the names to their Germanic language.

This is how the place names in German-speaking Switzerland that we know today have emerged over the centuries. Of course, in the Rhaeto-Romance speaking parts of the country, this language change did not take place – instead place names there continued to develop into the respective Rhaeto-Romance dialects and languages.

This sometimes led to folk etymological adjustments. If part of a word or name is no longer understood, the speaker may adapt it to a word that sounds similar but has the wrong etymology.

For Winterthur, the Alemannic form is already around 856 Wintarduro occupied – the part of the word that is no longer understood vitu became etymologically popular for the Alemannic word winter «Winter» modified. Later the second part of the word was also changed and based on the River Thur (which does not flow through Winterthur).

Other examples of folk etymologically altered place names are Weinfelden (in the first part of the name is not the wine, but the Alemannic personal name wino) or Herzogenbuchsee / Münchenbuchsee (the names have nothing to do with beeches or lakes, but go back to Latin. *ad buxa “At the boxwoods” back).

Nowadays people speak – at least in the region – instead of Winterthur often alone winti. This short and darling form of the place name cannot be 100 years old. The author has found no evidence from the first half of the 20th century. Many other place names are also abbreviated according to this pattern: in the Winterthur region, for example Neftenbach > Nefti And Wiesendangen > Show (Seuzach however, became regular according to the phonetic law sigh); also Rapperswil > Rappi or Solothurn > solos.

It is possible that these short forms originated in youth language contexts and later predominated as pet forms. The formation of pet shapes -i was probably derived from generic names (Bath house > Badi, High School > High School etc.) transferred to place names.

Other place names are missing -i-end tasted – usually by reducing it to the first or first two syllables (Wünnewil > Wüne, Neuchatel > Neuch). Creative nicknames and jokes like Wooliness for Wollishofen, ammebronx for Emmen Bridge or CHNOFLIGE for Konolfingen.

And as long as languages ​​are spoken in Switzerland, local place names will continue to change.