X-Cc: Multiple recipients of list WELSH-L To: Multiple recipients of list WELSH-L In-Reply-To: <199406231503.IAA15552@uclink.berkeley.edu> On Thu, 23 Jun 1994, Nigel Love wrote: > 2. Some biblical names which in English begin with J > have I in Welsh (e.g. Iago, Iesu, Ioan), but others have J > (Jeremia, Job, Josua). What principle is at work here (is it 'I' > in the New Testament, 'J' in the Old)? Have the J-forms always > had J, and how is it pronounced? > > The Bible says 'Jerwsalem', the dictionary 'Caersalem'. Is this > the same kind of distinction that we have in English between > 'Israelite' (member of an ancient tribe) and 'Israeli' (citizen > of a modern state)? I think you'll find that it depends largely on when the name came into _common_ currency in the language. Names that were borrowed into Welsh and used regularly during the Old or Medieval Welsh periods are found with "I" because that more closely reflects the pronunciation current at that time (and for the earliest borrowings, "J" hadn't really been invented yet). Names that are familiar only from a literary standpoint, or that have been adopted for use only in relatively modern times (and usually via English) will tend to show up with "J" reflecting the English pronunciation. Heather Rose Jones