As a result of what Stonehenge and the Druids evoke, regarding mystery, religion ..., I have to admit that I find the history of the Celts rather fascinating. As a philologist I take great interest in knowing that some Celtic languages are still spoken in England, like in the Highlands; Gaelic, Welsh, Irish ... vestiges of the past. And I am led to believe that the autochthonous language of Cornualles (the Conish language) was spoken until well into the nineteenth century when the last Cornish speaker died. My main interest is in the many Celtic languages (and the literature produced with them). In terms of this, I would like to share some Celtic placenames that still exist in Britain, especially river-names. Apparently, they are among the oldest words in the language. And the fact that many rivers still have a Celtic name futher proves the importance of the Celts (and therefore, the Celtic languages) in what we call Britain today.
Why?
Because the new settlers tend to respect and maintain the old placenames, especially rivernames, we still can enjoy them. Intrinsic in the Celtic term (name) is the fact that they are rivers.
1. The river 'Avon' in Canterbury is a word that means 'river' in the Old Celtic language.
2. 'Don', which is in Scotland, from the Celtic word 'Devona', means 'Goddess'. 'Devona', 'divina' in Spanish, is usually referred by some scholars as the old term to say 'God' and structurally the pre-term of 'Devil' (devona > devil).
3. 'Esk', which is in Lake District, comes from 'iska', an Old Celtic word that means 'water'.
4. 'Dove', in Derbyshire, is connected with the Old Celtic word 'duvo', which means 'black' and/or 'dark'.
5. And the river 'Tame' --related to the Londoner river Thames, of course--, in the area of Manchester, comes from the Celtic word 'tame' and means: 'dark'.
You should have done this with some French rivers!! xx
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