But as
every connecting link between them and the _historical_ Slavi is
wanting, the fact seems of little importance.]
[Footnote 4: Schaffarik in his work on _Slavic Antiquities_ attempts
to prove that the Sarmatae were no Slavi, but a Perso-Median nation;
remnants of which, he thinks, he has discovered in the Alanes and
Osetenzes in the Caucasus.]
[Footnote 5: The name of the _Slavi_ has generally been derived from
_slava_, glory, and their national feelings have of course been
gratified by this derivation. But the more immediate origin of the
appellation, is to be sought in the word _slovo_ word, speech. The
change of _o_ into _a_ occurs frequently in the Slavic languages,
(thus _slava_ comes from _slovo_) but is in this case probably to be
ascribed to foreigners, viz. Byzantines, Romans, and Germans. In the
language of the latter, the _o_ in names and words of Slavic origin
inmany instances becomes _a_. The radical syllable _slov_ is still to
be found in the appellations which the majority of the Slavic nations
apply to themselves or kindred nations, e.g. Slovenzi, Slovaci,
Slovane, Sloveni, etc. The Russians and Servians did not exchange the
_o_ for _a_ before the seventh century. See Schaffarik's _Geschichte_,
p.
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