Paleo-Balkan & Balto-Slavic - Common Proto Language

[Soldier of Macedon]

Originally Posted by Karposh

Hey SoM. They are just some of the names that have been found inscribed at various archaeological sites throughout what was once the ancient geographical region of Upper Macedonia as outlined in Nade Proeva's book Studies of the Ancient Macedonians, more specifically, in Chapter VI "Epihorski Iminja vo Gorna Makedonija". I think I merely singled out these names in particular (amongst the many others in the book) because of their very non-Hellenic sounding origins.

That's fair enough. I agree with your earlier inference. Contrary to the aristocratic elite, it's likely that many of the commoners in Macedonia had such (or similar) names, even if they are often attributed to people from Thrace and Illyria. I do find that some scholars are too eager to treat supposedly distinct onomastic areas as “evidence” of significant linguistic differences. Some names may be common or exclusive to a particular region, but it doesn’t mean they weren’t used or understood outside of it. Further, there are several signs that point to a language continuum in a large part of the (non-Greek) Paleo-Balkan sphere.

In her book, Proeva does ascibe Thracian or Illirian origins to some of these names as you correctly point out but, to me, they sound very slavic-like. That is, from a purely phonetic point of view. Doule, for example, is a common Balkan male name to this vary day and can easily be found not only in Macedonia but in Serbia and Bulgaria as well. Moma and Momo have obvious etymological connotations to today's standard Macedonian word for young lady / girl / maiden. And the others just sound like they can pass as normal modern Macedonian personal names.

You’re right, there are Paleo-Balkan names that resemble Slavic from a phonetic standpoint. Some, however, may also be deceiving. Take the Illyrian name Glavus as an example. There is a clear likeness to Slavic glava (head). Glavaš and Glavan are contemporary surnames in Croatia, in what was once Illyria. Yet, before reaching its current form, the Slavic word underwent a process known as metathesis, where the consonants *r and *l shifted from after to before the vowels (cf. Baltic galva). It is assumed these changes only occurred in the late 8th century. Given the time difference, therefore, the name Glavus may have meant something else, unless Illyrian itself went through a partial process of metathesis that predated Slavic. As for Dule, it’s a modern nickname for the proper name Dušan. Although not impossible, it's hard to imagine such a nickname would be in continuous use over such a long period of time. That said, I do find the Illyrian name Dussona interesting.