Mýrar

[Rajan Parrikar]

Mýrar, in the Westfjords region of Iceland. The word is the plural of 'bog.'

[Eric Myrvaagnes]

Nice.

And "Myr" is the same in Norwegian (first syllable of my family name, derived from the name of a farm on an island off the west coast of Norway. The rest of my surname includes "Vaag," which is Vik in Icelandic. and "Nes," which also occurs in Old English.   

[Rajan Parrikar]

Nice.

And "Myr" is the same in Norwegian (first syllable of my family name, derived from the name of a farm on an island off the west coast of Norway. The rest of my surname includes "Vaag," which is Vik in Icelandic. and "Nes," which also occurs in Old English.   

Indeed, Eric, and 'nes' is peninsula. So, your last name is literally Bog-Bay-Peninsula.

[Chairman Bill]

Nes more generally translates as 'head', as in a small headland sticking out to sea. Britain has lots of placenames ending in 'ness', attesting to the various Norse invasions & settlements here.

[NancyP]

hence, "mire" in English, which has a lot of contributions from Old Norse, predecessor of Icelandic and other languages.

[Eric Myrvaagnes]

Indeed, Eric, and 'nes' is peninsula. So, your last name is literally Bog-Bay-Peninsula.

When I was a child, my father considered changing the family name to something that might be easier for Americans to swallow. He came up with several candidates, and I am delighted that he never went through with the name change.

The longest one he came up with was "Quagmire-inlet-promontory."     Even longer than Bog-Bay-Peninsula.


I apologize for dragging this thread off topic, but it's nice to know there are knowledgeable linguists among the LuLa crowd.   

[Jeremy Roussak]

...it's nice to know there are knowledgeable linguists among the LuLa crowd.   

Indeed it is. This is one of the saner and more interesting discussions I've read here recently.

Jeremy

[DwayneOakes]

Very nice, love the soft light and overcast cloudy day.

Dwayne Oakes

[Eric Myrvaagnes]

Indeed it is. This is one of the saner and more interesting discussions I've read here recently.

Jeremy

And let's not forget Rajan's excellent photo that prompted the discussion.

[Rajan Parrikar]

hence, "mire" in English, which has a lot of contributions from Old Norse, predecessor of Icelandic and other languages.

Excellent point. Icelandic is essentially Old Norwegian. I have no particular knowledge of linguistics but occasionally I can recognize cognates with German. Eg. Icelandic 'loft' and German 'luft' (air). Not surprising since Icelandic is a Germanic language.

[Paulo Bizarro]

Lovely and tranquil photo. As a geologist, I am curious about the flat-topped mountains in the background; perhaps an old sea-level platform?

[Eric Myrvaagnes]

Lovely and tranquil photo. As a geologist, I am curious about the flat-topped mountains in the background; perhaps an old sea-level platform?

Quite likely I would think, since the Atlantic Rift runs right through Iceland, so areas on either side might well have been much higher or lower in the geologic past.

(Disclaimer: I am not a geologist, and I don't even play one on TV.)

[Rajan Parrikar]

Lovely and tranquil photo. As a geologist, I am curious about the flat-topped mountains in the background; perhaps an old sea-level platform?

The Westfjords are geologically the oldest part of Iceland and there is virtually no volcanic activity here at present. These table-top mountains and valleys are characteristic of this area and are a result of glaciation and ice pressure. The best example is Ketildalir ("Kettle Valleys") near Bíldudalur.  See the second image here.

[Paulo Bizarro]

Thanks for the added geo pics Rajan.