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Origine dei Valacchi: teorie del termine e dei gruppi etnici, e sulla loro diffusione per l’Europa
Vogna, Vittorio
2025
Abstract
The author considers “Wallachian” peoples, their name and their spread among European populations. The term “Valacco” was originally attributed to peoples in the upper Balkan area who first came into contact with Roman soldiers and the veterans who settled on the Empire’s borders, giving rise to Wallachian ethnic groups which were progressively Latinised. The name “Valacco” derived from the Greek “Vlahos”, which in turn derived from the German Walh and Celtic Valcae tribes. The Romans then spread it to the peoples with which they came into increasing contact and latinised it. These roots also gave rise to the Hungarian “olasz” and the Polish “włoch”, both used to this day to mean “Italian”. From an ethnological standpoint, therefore, Wallachian refers to the neo-Latin (or Latin-speaking) populations of the Balkan area. North Balkan Wallachians were identified in Romanians and Moldavians; central Balkan Wallachians in Morlachs and Cići; south Balkan Wallachians in Aromanians living in Greece, Albania and Macedonia. The name Wallachians was also applied ethnologically to peoples in Moravia, Slovakia, Ukraine and Poland. To summarise, the Wallachians appeared as ethnic groups formed by new Latinised border populations in the Balkan area, which then became a linguistic phenomenon: through the Romans, Latin fused with Celtic and Germanic languages in a linguistic mixture which acquired the name of Valacco. While the term originated in the Balkans, it spread to much of the Romanised Celtic world and Slav areas too.
L’autore considera le popolazioni “Valacche” e la loro diffusione ai termini di Valacchi alle popolazioni dell’Europa. Il termine di Valacco venne attribuito origina¬riamente alle popolazioni dell’alta area balcanica, che vennero per prime in contatto con i soldati romani e con i veterani di Roma che si insediavano sui confini e si insediarono con le popolazioni autoctone, dando luogo a etnie Valacche, progressivamente latinizzate. Il termine Valacco deriva dal greco Vlahos, il quale deriva dalle tribù tedesche Walh e dal celtico Valcae. I Romani poi diffusero il termine alle popolazioni con le quali venivano progressivamente in contatto e che si fusero attraverso matrimoni misti e con la diffusione della lingua latina. Da queste radici derivarono anche l’ungherese olasz usato tuttora per italiano e il polacco włoch usato tuttora per italiano. Perciò, dal punto di vista etnologico per Valacchi si intendono le popolazioni neolatine (o latinofoni) dell’area balcanica. Così, i valacchi del nord balcanico vengono poi identificati con i romeni e i moldavi; i valacchi del centro balcanico con i morlacchi e i cicci; i valacchi del sud balcanico con gli aromeni della Grecia, dell’Albania e della Macedonia. Con Valacchi sono anche indicati etnologicamente popolazioni della Moravia, della Slovacchia, dell’Ucraina e della Polonia. In sintesi, i Valacchi apparvero come etnie formate da nuove popolazioni di confine latinizzate prima nelle aree balcaniche, e poi attraverso un mix linguistico, perché i romani formarono tra il latino e lingue celtiche e germaniche una parlata chiamata poi valacco. Così, se il termine valacco nacque nell’area Balcanica, venne poi a diffondersi un po’ in tutto il mondo celtico romanizzato, ma anche slavo.
The author considers “Wallachian” peoples, their name and their spread among European populations. The term “Valacco” was originally attributed to peoples in the upper Balkan area who first came into contact with Roman soldiers and the veterans who settled on the Empire’s borders, giving rise to Wallachian ethnic groups which were progressively Latinised. The name “Valacco” derived from the Greek “Vlahos”, which in turn derived from the German Walh and Celtic Valcae tribes. The Romans then spread it to the peoples with which they came into increasing contact and latinised it. These roots also gave rise to the Hungarian “olasz” and the Polish “włoch”, both used to this day to mean “Italian”. From an ethnological standpoint, therefore, Wallachian refers to the neo-Latin (or Latin-speaking) populations of the Balkan area. North Balkan Wallachians were identified in Romanians and Moldavians; central Balkan Wallachians in Morlachs and Cići; south Balkan Wallachians in Aromanians living in Greece, Albania and Macedonia. The name Wallachians was also applied ethnologically to peoples in Moravia, Slovakia, Ukraine and Poland. To summarise, the Wallachians appeared as ethnic groups formed by new Latinised border populations in the Balkan area, which then became a linguistic phenomenon: through the Romans, Latin fused with Celtic and Germanic languages in a linguistic mixture which acquired the name of Valacco. While the term originated in the Balkans, it spread to much of the Romanised Celtic world and Slav areas too.
Subjects
Popolazioni Valacche
termine Valacco
soldati e veterani ro...
Vlahos
Walh
Alcae
popolazioni neolatine...
lingua greca
Valacchi del nord, de...
storici
etnologi
sociologi
Wallachian peoples
the term Valacco
Roman border soldiers...
neo-Latin populations...
Greek language
Wallachians of the no...
historians
ethnologists
sociologists
Publisher
EUT Edizioni Università di Trieste
Source
Vittorio Vogna, "Origine dei Valacchi: teorie del termine e dei gruppi etnici, e sulla loro diffusione per l’Europa" in: "Futuribili. Rivista di studi sul futuro e di previsione sociale. 2023, n. 1/2, Vol. XXVIII", EUT Edizioni Università di Trieste, Trieste, 2025, pp. 275-296
Languages
it
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
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