Note On Terminology in English and German
The name Jura (German: Jura, related to Jurassic) derives from the Jura mountains, of which the Swabian and Franconian plateaux are geographically part. In German, at least outside geological circles, the word Alb is used almost universally in place of Jura. The origin of the word is uncertain. One theory is that it derives form the Latin albus ("white"). Another is that it is from from a pre-Indo-European word albhros ("hill"). It is related to the German words Alpe, Alm or Alp (f., Old High German alpâ), meaning an "upland pasture". The word Alb functions as a proper noun referring more or less exclusively to the Swabian and the Franconian Jura (German: Fränkische Alb) areas however, and as such has no direct translation into most other languages. It is perhaps for this reason that Schwaebische Alb has sometimes been translated into English as 'Swabian Alps', thus avoiding the rather formal and obscure geological name Jura. However, the area is not part of the Alps (despite its proximity), nor is it ever referred to as such in German.
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