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Summary
The Methodological Dilemma of Interference-Onomastics: Is
A/fmü/t/a German Name?
The name of the German river Altmühl can be understood as a German name
composed of alt ‘old’ und -miihl ‘mill’, but the early medieval forms of the
name (Alcmona, Alchmuna etc.) show that the name is of Pregermanic origin.
Altmühl obviously is a case of folk etymology. The main methodological
principle of etymology of toponyms claims that toponyms in the German
speaking area should be explained linguistically as far as possible as German.
Pregermanic etymology is only allowed if a German is not possible or if older
forms show the Pregermanic origin. That leads us in a dilemma: If we had no
older forms we had to explain Altmühl as a German name. That means that all
or at least many German liking toponyms without clearly Pregermanic forms
could be of Pregermanic origin, transformed by folk etymology.
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