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We decided on the name because in Switzerland there are 4 official languages spoken and written; but all the infrastructure is shared (the promise of the tool).
by lrenggli 8y ago
We decided on the name because in Switzerland there are 4 official languages spoken and written; but all the infrastructure is shared (the promise of the tool). Helvetia is an alternate name for Switzerland: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Name_of_Switzerland#Helvetia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Name_of_Switzerland#Helvetia.
- DictumMortuum 8y agoIn Greece we call Switzerland Helvetia!
- mar77i 8y agoWith regard to the product, it could be a hint at mercenary times. Once upon a time it was possible for any army to employ Swiss mercenaries in their rows. Not that I, as an engineer, approve that it's generally a good idea to unite more technologies than absolutely necessary in the same project.
- mar77i 8y agoOh wait, "languages" in the title are natural languages! I haven't realized that typing the above comment. :D
- nkrisc 8y agoAsking as someone with a very shallow familiarity with Scandinavian languages: is there any connection to the Norwegian 'helvete', often translated to English as 'Hell'? EDIT: Adding this since I found it after asking https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk%3AHell,_Norway https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk%3AHell,_Norway Answer seems to be "probably not"
- atombender 8y ago"Helvete" comes from Old Norse helvíti, a combination of hel (death, also the land of the dead and the goddess Hel) + víti (punishment).