Observations on Historical Terminology: Grotte and Höhle in German Texts

Abstract

Avtor govori o zgodovini terminologije za jame (Grotte, Höhle), ki so jo uporabljali nemško govoreči pisci in raziskovalci v avstrogrskem času, s posebnim poudarkom na etimologiji izrazov Grotte in Höhle. Sklene, da ni razlike med njima, ne s speleološkega in ne z jezikoslovnega vidika. Sočasna raba obeh izrazov v omenjenem obdobju je bila odvisna od jezikovnih okoliščin in vpliva italijanščine (dvojezično ali celo trojezično okolje) na klasičnem Krasu.

The author treats the historical terminology for caves (Grotte, Höhle) used by German speaking authors and explorers in the Austro-Hungarian period with special emphasis on the etymology of the terms Grotte and Höhle, coming to the conclusion that those terms do not indicate a difference either from the speleological point of view or the linguistic one. The contemporary use of Grotte and Höhle in the Austro-Hungarian period is determined by linguistic conditions and influence of the Italian (bilingual or even trilingual situation) in the classical Karst region.