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The name of Romania (România) comes from the Romanian ''Român'', which is a derivative of the Latin adjective ''Romanus'' (Roman).〔(Explanatory Dictionary of the Romanian Language, 1998; New Explanatory Dictionary of the Romanian Language, 2002 )〕 Romanians are a people living in Central and South-Eastern Europe speaking a Romance language. ==Etymology of the ethnonym ''Romanian'' (român)== During the transition from Vulgar Latin to Romanian, there were some phonetical changes that modified ''romanus'' into ''român'' or ''rumân''. The accusative form ''romanum'' was retained. * ending "-m" dropped (occurred in all Romance languages) * ending "-u" dropped (regular change; in Old Romanian was however still present) * "a" → "â" (regular change; vowels before nasal stops turned into "â"/"î") * "o" → "u" (regular change; however, in some regions of Romania, the variant with "o" was kept) A reference to the name ''Romanian'' could be contained in the Nibelungenlied written between 1180 and 1210:〔Nibelungenlied#Authorship〕 "Duke Ramunc of Walachia,/with seven hundred vassals, galloped up before her/like flying wild birds men saw them ride".〔"Der herzoge Ramunch vzer Vlâchen lant/mit Sibenhunduert mannen chom er fvr si gerant/sam die wilden vogele so sah man si varn", Das Niebelungenlied, Adventure 22, page 52v, stanza 1370 in (Version C )〕 It is argued that "Ramunc" could represent a symbolic figure, representing Romanians.〔"Der Nibelunge not", XII, ed. K. Lachmann, Berlin, 1878, p. 174; Francis P. Magoun jr. in "Geographical and Ethnic Names in the Nibelungenlied", p. 129-130; Fritz Schuster cu "Herzog Ramunc aus dem Walachenland", in "Sudost-Forschungen", XI, 1946-1952, p. 284-290)〕 The self-designation of Romanians as Romans is mentioned in scholarly works as early as the 16th century by mainly Italian humanists travelling in Transylvania, Moldavia and Walachia. Thus, Tranquillo Andronico writes in 1534 that Romanians (Valachi) "now call themselves Romans".〔''"nunc se Romanos vocant"'' A. Verres, Acta et Epistolae, I, p. 243〕 In 1532, Francesco della Valle accompanying Governor Aloisio Gritti to Transylvania, Walachia and Moldavia notes that Romanians preserved the name of the Romans (''Romani'') and "they call themselves in their language Romanians (Romei)". He even cites the sentence "Stii romineste ?" ("do you speak Romanian ?" for originally Romanian "știi românește ?").〔''"...si dimandano in lingua loro Romei...se alcuno dimanda se sano parlare in la lingua valacca, dicono a questo in questo modo: Sti Rominest ? Che vol dire: Sai tu Romano,..."'' Cl. Isopescu, Notizie intorno ai romeni nella letteratura geografica italiana del Cinquecento, in Bulletin de la Section Historique, XVI, 1929, p. 1- 90〕 Ferrante Capeci writes around 1575 that the inhabitants of those Provinces call themselves ''“Romanians”'',〔''“Anzi essi si chiamano romanesci, e vogliono molti che erano mandati quì quei che erano dannati a cavar metalli...”'' in Maria Holban, Călători străini despre Țările Române, vol. II, p. 158–161〕 while Pierre Lescalopier notes in 1574 that those inhabiting Walachia, Moldavia and the most part of Transylvania say to be descendants of Romans, calling their language ''"romanechte"'' (French transcription for Romanian ''românește'' - Romanian).〔''"Tout ce pays la Wallachie et Moldavie et la plus part de la Transivanie a esté peuplé des colonie romaines du temps de Traian l’empereur…Ceux du pays se disent vrais successeurs des Romains et nomment leur parler romanechte, c'est-à-dire romain … "'' Voyage fait par moy, Pierre Lescalopier l’an 1574 de Venise a Constantinople, fol 48 in Paul Cernovodeanu, Studii si materiale de istorie medievala, IV, 1960, p. 444〕 Other first-hand evidence about the name Romanians used to call themselves comes from authors having lived in Transylvania and/or Romanian principalities: the Transylvanian Saxon Johann Lebel confirms in 1542 that common Romanians call themselves "Romuini",〔''"Ex Vlachi Valachi, Romanenses Italiani,/Quorum reliquae Romanensi lingua utuntur.../Solo Romanos nomine, sine re, repraesentantes./Ideirco vulgariter Romuini sunt appelanti"'', Ioannes Lebelius, De opido Thalmus, Carmen Istoricum, Cibinii, 1779, p. 11–12〕 Orichovius (Stanislaw Orzechowski) notes as late as 1554 that "in their own language, Romanians are called Romini, after the Romans, and Walachs in Polish, after the Italians",〔''"qui eorum lingua Romini ab Romanis, nostra Walachi, ab Italis appellantur"'' St. Orichovius, Annales polonici ab excessu Sigismundi, in I. Dlugossus, Historiae polonicae libri XII, col 1555〕 Anton Verancsics writes around 1570 that Romanians living in Transylvania, Moldavia and Walachia call themselves Romans (Romanians)〔''„...Valacchi, qui se Romanos nominant...„ “Gens quae ear terras (Transsylvaniam, Moldaviam et Transalpinam) nostra aetate incolit, Valacchi sunt, eaque a Romania ducit originem, tametsi nomine longe alieno...“'' De situ Transsylvaniae, Moldaviae et Transaplinae, in Monumenta Hungariae Historica, Scriptores; II, Pesta, 1857, p. 120〕 and Martinus Szent-Ivany cites in 1699 Romanian expressions: "Sie noi sentem Rumeni" (modern standard Romanian "Și noi suntem români") and "Noi sentem di sange Rumena" (in modern standard Romanian "Noi suntem de sânge român")〔''"Valachos...dicunt enim communi modo loquendi: Sie noi sentem Rumeni: etiam nos sumus Romani. Item: Noi sentem di sange Rumena: Nos sumus de sanguine Romano"'' Martinus Szent-Ivany, Dissertatio Paralimpomenica rerum memorabilium Hungariae, Tyrnaviae, 1699, p. 39.〕 Historical Romanian documents display two spelling forms of "Romanian": "''român''" and "''rumân''". For centuries, both spelling forms are interchangeably used, sometimes in the same phrase.〔''"am scris aceste sfente cǎrți de învățături, sǎ fie popilor rumânesti... sǎ înțeleagǎ toți oamenii cine-s rumâni creștini"'' "Întrebare creștineascǎ" (1559), Bibliografia româneascǎ veche, IV, 1944, p. 6. ''"...că văzum cum toate limbile au și înfluresc întru cuvintele slǎvite a lui Dumnezeu numai noi românii pre limbă nu avem. Pentru aceia cu mare muncǎ scoasem de limba jidoveascǎ si greceascǎ si srâbeascǎ pre limba româneascǎ 5 cărți ale lui Moisi prorocul si patru cărți și le dăruim voo frați rumâni și le-au scris în cheltuială multǎ... și le-au dăruit voo fraților români,... și le-au scris voo fraților români"'' Palia de la Orǎștie (1581–1582), București, 1968. ''" În Țara Ardealului nu lăcuiesc numai unguri, ce și sași peste seamă de mulți și români peste tot locul..."'', Grigore Ureche, Letopisețul Țării Moldovei, p. 133-134.〕 In the 17th century the term "Romanian" also appears as ''Rumun'' (Johann Tröster), ''Rumuny'' (Paul Kovács de Lisznyai), ''Rumuin'' (Laurentius Toppeltinus), and ''Rumen'' (Johannes Lucius and Martin Szentiványi).〔http://www.hungarian-history.hu/lib/chk/chk01.pdf〕 In the Middle Ages the ethno-linguistical designation ''rumân/român'' also denoted ''common people''. During the 17th century, as serfdom becomes a widespread institution, ''common people'' increasingly turns into ''bondsman''. In a process of semantic differentiation in 17th-18th centuries the form ''rumân'', presumably usual among lower classes, got merely the meaning of ''bondsman'', while the form ''"român"'' kept an ethno-linguistic meaning.〔Stelian Brezeanu, Romanitatea Orientalǎ în Evul Mediu, Editura All Educational, București, 1999, p. 229-246〕 After the abolition of the serfage by Prince Constantine Mavrocordato in 1746, the form ''"rumân"'' gradually disappears and the spelling definitively stabilises to the form ''"român", "românesc"''.〔In his well known literary testament Ienăchiță Văcărescu writes: "Urmașilor mei Văcărești!/Las vouă moștenire:/Creșterea limbei românești/Ș-a patriei cinstire." In the ''"Istoria faptelor lui Mavroghene-Vodă și a răzmeriței din timpul lui pe la 1790"'' a Pitar Hristache writes: "Încep după-a mea ideie/Cu vreo câteva condeie/Povestea mavroghenească/Dela Țara Românească. 〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Name of Romania」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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