Disputatio:Tel Aviv

E Vicipaedia

[recensere] Latin name of Tel Aviv

As I have argued elsewhere, there are three possible ways to name Tel Aviv in good Latin:

  1. Ancient-style transliteration: if Tel Aviv had existed in ancient times, the Greeks and Romans would have spelled it Thelabib. Granted, Hebrew is pronounced quite differently now, but Modern Latin has always been conservative in such matters.
  2. Biblical translation: a colony by the same name (but not the same place: in the Babylonian Exile) is mentioned in Ezechiel 3:15. The Vulgate here actually translates the name, giving it as Acervus Novarum Frugum. Tel Aviv is now usually understood to mean "Tel of Spring," but the ancients seem to have understood in in a slightly transfered sense as "Mound of new grain."
  3. Eggerian translation: Egger, as he often does, tries to translate the name as Vernicollis. I wouldn't call the city that, but I guarantee you that if Egger suggested it, people use it.

Do we have any serious attestations for Telavivum or was that just a guess? --Iustinus 17:54, 15 Ianuarii 2007 (UTC)

Because I put in Telavivum, I think, I read that word in one of the recent "Vox Latina" perhaps besides Vernicollis. The problem with publications like Vox Latine might be, that they have sometimes quick inventions which then do not hold very long. --Alex1011 19:11, 15 Ianuarii 2007 (UTC)
Exactly. I have never voiced this, but generally I consider the modern periodicals to be of a lower status than most other sources, for pricisely the reasons you give. But they are still useful sources, and so if Telavivum really occurs in Vox Latina then it should appear in the article. But do others agree with me that Tel Aviv is, as the Brittish say, right out? My preferred location for this article would be at Telabib: while it is unattested, it's linguistically sound. Following that, I guess Vernicollis or Telavivum. --Iustinus 19:38, 15 Ianuarii 2007 (UTC)