South Jutlandic - Place Names

Place Names

Place names in South Slesvig are of almost exclusively Danish origin, except in North Frisia and the southernmost area. Typical Scandinavian endings include -by, -bøl, -trup, -lund, -ved, -toft (in German form: -by, -büll, -trup, -lund, -witt, -toft. In some cases the South Jutlandic form has been eradicated from the Standard Danish variety of the name, but is still visible in the Germanised version:

Standard Danish South Jutlandic German
Meden Mejn Meyn
Bilskov Bilskau Billschau
Agtrup Achtrup Achtrup
Jydbæk Jybæk Jübek
Sønderup Synnerup Sünderup
Padborg Pejbåw Pattburg

In many other cases the Germanised versions are out of etymological context. Examples include the Danish ending -næs (isthmus) being replaced by -nitz, a Slavic ending which is common in eastern Germany. Such arbitrary translations were often made by the central Prussian government after the whole of Slesvig was ceded to Prussia after the war of 1864.

The South Jutlandic name of the town of Schleswig (Slesvig), from which the region derives its name, was Sljasvig with the stress on the second syllable.

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