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The place-names of the Empire.

THE ROOTS OF ATLANTEAN PLACE-NAMES

The place-names (i.e. the names of towns, villages, and geographical features) within the Atlantean Empire represent a fascinating capsule of the linguistic history both of Atlantis and of the other languages incorporated into her empire. Although the names often look meaningless in themselves, in nearly every case we can find elements of Atlantean words (current or from the past) or of words from other languages, perhaps altered in various ways to suit changing linguistic practices, or to bring them into line to Atlantean usage. All the following may be found : obsolete earlier forms of Atlantean, North Atlantean forms, Numedean remnants, and Chalcran, Helvran or Yalland words, sometimes combined with Atlantean ones. Geographical names in particular reveal fossilised non-Atlantean features. Areas close to the borders will have non-Juralic names, sometimes "Atlanticised". Towns are often old, but a large number of new ones were built during the course of the Empire, and these are usually give purely Atlantean names (e.g. Cennatlantis, Atlanipand.)

ELEMENTS IN PLACE-NAMES

Very many towns and geographical names are called after nearby geographical features, or have such terms as "old" and "new" added to them. The following particles (shown with their original meanings, and examples) are very common in Atlantean names :

-tis, -is town Atlantis, Gentis (towns)

-run, hill Lillerunix (range of hills)

-inge sea Celinge, Nosinge (towns)

-zueph-, -(s)lepp (N.Atlantean/Helvran) river Yzuephe(town), river Fellepp

-pand fort Fembepand (town)

cenn- new Cennis, Cennatlantis (towns)

ughol mountain Crolden Ugholix (hills)

yet old Yeldis (town)

Thus it can be seen that Atlantis (the town) literally means "the town of the Atlans", and Cennatlantis (the later capital of the Empire) means "New Atlantis". The range of high hills in the south of the Province - the Lillerunix - literally meant "white hills" - "lill" means white and "runix" means hills. The rather strange word Ughol, meaning mountain was borrowed from the Ughan language at some early stage, where the word for mountain was "Udgh", and the Ughans themselves were literally "the people of the mountains". (These mountains, as far as the Atlanteans were concerned, were the great range called the Gestix Ugholix or "Eastern mountains" which ran to the east of the river Gestes, and cut off the Ughans from all the western peoples, including the Atlanteans.

And the suffix "-pand", from pandu meaning fort, is found in many Atlantean fortress cities, especially to the west of the river Gestes - e.g. Fembepand, Atlanipand and Borepand.

Very often we find names in parts of the Empire, which were not originally Atlantean, have prefixes and suffixes with similar meanings to the above, but in the original language of the area. For example :

Chalcran : Gil (old) and misto (farm) eg Gilmisto. Triall (high) e.g. Triallana (town)

Helvran : Giez- (old) e.g. Giezuat. Cuat (town) e.g. Numercuat.

Yalland : Dhoiro (river) e.g. river Dhoiros. Dir (from Thair = town) e.g. Yemdir

Lïo-Marossan : Phaio (river) e.g. river Ruphaio. Sulo (great) and lo/so (town) e.g. R. Sulosos.

Keltish : Dor (mountain) and Tan (town) e.g. Dortan and Mountan (towns).

Atlantean and non-Atlantean elements may be combined, e.g. Bemmetis (Chalcran "Bemme" (wood) and Atlantean "tis" (town)).

In areas adjacent to or beyond the borders, Atlantean usually adopted - and sometimes adapted - the names as they were found in the languages spoken across the borders, e.g. Ughan, Basquec, Vulcan, and the various Southern tongues. Examples are :

Ughan : Teg or Ceg (river) - rivers in Ughan areas were usually prefixed by these Ughan words in Atlantean; also : Udgh (mountain - borrowed by Atlantean as Ughol.)

Basquec : Puach (new) as in Puachith (town); Rult (great) as in Och Therult.

 

Finally, in some really old names, we can trace the fossilised remains of long-dead languages, such as Marossan, Dravedean and Numedean. Examples of place-names dating all the way back to these eras have been given in the Prologue to this history.

 

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