Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2018 January 1

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January 1[edit]

Correct name for Bosnisch Novy in Bosnia[edit]

Happy New Year to everybody. Does anybody know where the correct location is for Bosnisch Novy in Bosnia. Page 50 IF-179 Seabourne Vol. IV, PT. 2 [1]. I can't locate it. It is the German name Bosnisch Novy. I don't know what the actual name is. Thanks. scope_creep (talk) 14:24, 1 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Possibly Novi Grad, Republika Srpska, previously known as Bosanski Novi (which sounds fairly close to your German name). Wymspen (talk) 15:58, 1 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]
You beat me to it Wymspen, I came up with the same answer. "Bosnisch" is German for "Bosnian", so it was probably a transcription error before the document was translated into English. Alansplodge (talk) 16:16, 1 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]
Our Bosnian language article says: "The name "Bosnian language" is a controversial issue for some Croats and Serbs, who also refer to it as the "Bosniak" language (Serbo-Croatian: bošnjački / бошњачки; [bǒʃɲaːtʃkiː]). Bosniak linguists however insist that the only legitimate name is "Bosnian" language (bosanski)". So somebody has translated "Bosanski" as "Bosnisch". Alansplodge (talk) 16:31, 1 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]
In the name of a town, the adjective more likely describes the location than the language. With Novi meaning something like Newtown (in a place name), this would be the Bosnian Newtown, meaning the one in Bosnia. Wymspen (talk) 16:55, 1 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks guy's. Thanks. scope_creep (talk) 17:59, 1 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]
No, novi simply means "new". Novi Grad (see also Novograd, Novgorod) means "new town". See Grad (toponymy). μηδείς (talk) 19:04, 1 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]
But when the name is an adjective, it's reasonable to assume that "town" is implied. --76.69.117.217 (talk) 20:48, 1 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]
That's an absurd, baseless assertion. Provide a citation or just an example of a Slavic town named simply Novy or some alternative of that. μηδείς (talk) 02:53, 2 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]
Well, Bosnisch Novy means Bosnian New, or New Bosnian in the normal English word order. But New Bosnian what? Novy is masculine, which fits 'grad'. What else would you suppose is intended there? -- Jack of Oz [pleasantries] 03:08, 2 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]
Bosnisch is a German word. Give me a Bosnian term, or an example of a Slavic placename consiting simply of Nowy, and I will suppose something based on evidence. I won't speculate on a garbled translation. μηδείς (talk) 04:27, 2 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]
But we're not discussing a place called simply "Nowy" or "Novi" or any other one-word name. Garbled it may be, but the place we're talking about has been called "Bosnisch Novy". -- Jack of Oz [pleasantries] 04:34, 2 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]
μηδείς, novi (нови) does mean simply "new". But the meaning of Novi (Нови), used as a proper noun, is indeed closer to "Newtown". The original name of Herceg Novi, in the neighbouring Montenegro, was Novi. Novi is still Herceg Novi's common name among the locals, as well as the name of the titular Catholic see. Source: I am a native speaker with ties to both Bosanski Novi and Herceg Novi. Surtsicna (talk) 23:22, 6 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]
Note that the Bosnian language Wikipedia still calls it Bosanski Novi. Alansplodge (talk) 12:00, 2 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]
[2] suggests "renamed Novi Grad by the authorities of Republika Srpska. The State authorities use dual name Bosanski Novi/Novi Grad". I presume state here refers to some part of the central government of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As noted in our article the official? municipality website which I think is in the Bosnian language seems to also use Novi Grad [3]. Nil Einne (talk) 16:30, 2 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]
These sources have some more info on the renaming of those and other places [4] [5]. BTW I admit I missed this before, but our article has some brief info on the old name:

The town was first mentioned in 1280 under the Roman name of Castrum Novum, which, literally translated from Latin, means "new town". In 1895, during Austro-Hungarian rule, the town was officially named Bosanski Novi.

Nil Einne (talk) 16:54, 2 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]