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ArchivesRe: Names that sound (very) different in other languages
in reply to a message by eleanor.09
I think a distinction needs to be made between names in various languages which are actually derived from a common root, and names which merely have the same meaning in different languages.
As an example, the Greek name Sophia means "wisdom" and so does the Japanese name Chie, but it would not be correct to say that Chie is the Japanese form of Sophia. They are unrelated names.
Every language has its own phonological system and will substitute, add, or drop original sounds for familiar ones. Names which are actually related across languages have sounds that have changed in an identifiable, consistent way (for example, English John, Joseph vs. Italian Giovanni, Giuseppe vs. the original Hebrew forms which appear to have started with a /y/). It appears to me that Hungarian "ibolya" and English "violet" actually do have a common etymology through Latin "viola," and, if so, then Ibolya is indeed the Hungarian form of the English name Violet and not just a translation.
As an example, the Greek name Sophia means "wisdom" and so does the Japanese name Chie, but it would not be correct to say that Chie is the Japanese form of Sophia. They are unrelated names.
Every language has its own phonological system and will substitute, add, or drop original sounds for familiar ones. Names which are actually related across languages have sounds that have changed in an identifiable, consistent way (for example, English John, Joseph vs. Italian Giovanni, Giuseppe vs. the original Hebrew forms which appear to have started with a /y/). It appears to me that Hungarian "ibolya" and English "violet" actually do have a common etymology through Latin "viola," and, if so, then Ibolya is indeed the Hungarian form of the English name Violet and not just a translation.
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