Germany or Deutschland?
Germany, Deutschland, Alemania or Nemačka? Why is this country called differently in various languages and where do these words come from?
1. The Germans call themselves and their language Deutsch – it’s pronounced “doich”, and it originates from the old German word ‘diutisc’ meaning people or the one who belongs to people. This word is used in the following languages:
– Chinese – Dégúo
– Danish – Tyskland
– Japanese – Doitsu
2. The oldest written Latin term “Germania” mentioned for the first time in the work of Julius Caesar “The Gallic War”, becomes the basis for further development of the names used in the following modern languages:
– English – Germany
– Bulgarian – Germanija
– Russian – Германия
– Swahili – Ujerumani
– Italian – Germania
3. Alemania, or Alemannen, originated from the name of the Alemanni people, which according to some sources are considered to have been a separate group of people or alliance of tribes. Since they inhabited the west of the country, around the river Main, the basis of this word is used mainly in Francophone countries:
– French – Allemagne
– Arabic – Almāniyā (ألمانيا)
– Turkish – Almanya
– Spanish – Alemania
4. Finally, where does the Serbian word “Nemačka” come from? There are several theories of its origin. The first is that the German and Slavic tribes were neighbors and it was believed that the Slavic people were far more culturally advanced than the German, warlike tribes, whose speech sounded strange to the Slavs, so they considered them mute/speechless (Serb. ‘nemi’). Another theory is that the meaning of this word is actually a foreigner or someone who speaks a foreign language. The third theory is that there used to be a German tribe called “Nemeter” because they worshiped the Celtic goddess Nemeton. Which of these three theories is true remains to be guessed, but one thing is certain – a derivative of the word “niemc” / “nemet” is used in several languages, including Serbian:
– Serbian – Nemačka
– Polish – Niemcy
– Slovenian – Nemčija
– Czech – Německo
– Hungarian – Németország