Toponymy
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Toponymy,toponymics,ortoponomasticsis the study oftoponyms(proper namesof places, also known asplace namesandgeographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types.[1][2][3][4]Toponym is the general term for a proper name of anygeographical feature,[5]and full scope of the term also includes proper names of allcosmographicalfeatures.[6]
In a more specific sense, the termtoponymyrefers to an inventory of toponyms, while the discipline researching such names is referred to astoponymicsortoponomastics.[7]Toponymy is a branch ofonomastics,the study ofproper namesof all kinds.[8]A person who studies toponymy is calledtoponymist.[1]
Etymology[edit]
The term toponymy comes fromAncient Greek:τόπος/tópos,'place', andὄνομα/onoma,'name'. TheOxford English Dictionaryrecordstoponymy(meaning "place name" ) first appearing in English in 1876.[9][10]Since then,toponymhas come to replace the termplace-namein professional discourse amonggeographers.[1]
Toponymic typology[edit]
Toponyms can be divided in two principal groups:[1]
- geonyms- proper names of allgeographicalfeatures, on planetEarth.[11]
- cosmonyms- proper names ofcosmographicalfeatures, outside Earth.[12]
Various types of geographical toponyms (geonyms) include, in Alpha betical order:[1]
- agronyms- proper names of fields and plains.[13]
- choronyms- proper names of regions or countries.[14]
- dromonyms- proper names of roads or any other transport routes by land, water or air.[15]
- drymonyms- proper names of woods and forests.[16]
- econyms- proper names of inhabited locations, like houses, villages, towns or cities,[17]including:
- hydronyms- proper names of various bodies of water,[20]including:
- insulonyms- proper names of islands.[26]
- metatoponyms- proper names of places containing recursive elements (e.g. Red River Valley Road).
- oronyms- proper names ofrelieffeatures, like mountains, hills and valleys,[27]including:
- speleonyms- proper names of caves or some other subterranean features.[28]
- petronyms- proper names of rock climbing routes.
- urbanonyms- proper names of urban elements (streets, squares etc.) in settlements,[29]including:
Various types of cosmographical toponyms (cosmonyms) include:
- asteroidonyms- proper names of asteroids.[19]
- astronyms- proper names of stars and constellations.[19]
- cometonyms- proper names of comets.[31]
- meteoronyms- proper names of meteors.[32]
- planetonyms- proper names of planets and planetary systems.[33]
History[edit]
![]() | The examples and perspective in this articlemay not represent aworldwide viewof the subject.(August 2023) |
Probably the first toponymists were the storytellers and poets who explained the origin of specific place names as part of their tales; sometimes place-names served as the basis for theiretiologicallegends. The process offolk etymologyusually took over, whereby a false meaning was extracted from a name based on its structure or sounds. Thus, for example, the toponym ofHellespontwas explained by Greek poets as being named afterHelle,daughter ofAthamas,who drowned there as she crossed it with her brotherPhrixuson a flying golden ram. The name, however, is probably derived from an older language, such asPelasgian,which was unknown to those who explained its origin. In hisNames on the Globe,George R. Stewarttheorizes thatHellespontoriginally meant something like 'narrow Pontus' or 'entrance to Pontus',Pontusbeing an ancient name for the region around theBlack Sea,and by extension, for the sea itself.[34]
Especially in the 19th century, the age of exploration, a lot of toponyms got a different name because of national pride. Thus the famous German cartographerPetermannthought that the naming of newly discovered physical features was one of the privileges of a map-editor, especially as he was fed up with forever encountering toponyms like 'Victoria', 'Wellington', 'Smith', 'Jones', etc. He writes: "While constructing the new map to specify the detailed topographical portrayal and after consulting with and authorization of messr.Theodor von Heuglinand countKarl Graf von Waldburg-ZeilI have entered 118 names in the map: partly they are the names derived from celebrities of arctic explorations and discoveries, arctic travellers anyway as well as excellent friends, patrons, and participants of different nationalities in the newest northpolar expeditions, partly eminent German travellers in Africa, Australia, America... ".[35]
Toponyms may have different names through time, due to changes and developments in languages, political developments and border adjustments to name but a few. More recently many postcolonial countries revert to their own nomenclature for toponyms that have been named by colonial powers.[1]
Toponomastics[edit]
Place names provide the most useful geographical reference system in the world. Consistency and accuracy are essential in referring to a place to prevent confusion in everyday business and recreation.[citation needed]
A toponymist, through well-established local principles and procedures developed in cooperation and consultation with theUnited Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names(UNGEGN), applies the science of toponymy to establish officially recognized geographical names. A toponymist relies not only on maps and local histories, but interviews with local residents to determine names with established local usage. The exact application of a toponym, its specific language, its pronunciation, and its origins and meaning are all important facts to be recorded during name surveys.
Scholars have found that toponyms provide valuable insight into the historical geography of a particular region. In 1954,F. M. Powickesaid of place-name study that it "uses, enriches and tests the discoveries of archaeology and history and the rules of thephilologists."[36]
Toponyms not only illustrate ethnic settlement patterns, but they can also help identify discrete periods of immigration.[37][38]
Toponymists are responsible for the active preservation of their region's culture through its toponymy.[citation needed]They typically ensure the ongoing development of a geographical names database and associated publications, for recording and disseminating authoritative hard-copy and digital toponymic data. This data may be disseminated in a wide variety of formats, including hard-copy topographic maps as well as digital formats such asgeographic information systems,Google Maps,or thesauri like theGetty Thesaurus of Geographic Names.[1]
Toponymic commemoration[edit]
In 2002, theUnited Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Namesacknowledged that while common, the practice of naming geographical places after living persons (toponymic commemoration) could be problematic. Therefore, theUnited Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Namesrecommends that it be avoided and that national authorities should set their own guidelines as to the time required after a person's death for the use of a commemorative name.[39]
In the same vein, writers Pinchevski and Torgovnik (2002) consider the naming of streets as a political act in which holders of the legitimate monopoly to name aspire to engrave their ideological views in the social space.[40]Similarly, therevisionistpractice of renaming streets,as both the celebration of triumph and the repudiation of the old regime is another issue of toponymy.[41]Also, in the context ofSlavic nationalism,the name ofSaint Petersburgwas changed to the more Slavic soundingPetrogradfrom 1914 to 1924,[42]then toLeningradfollowing the death ofVladimir Leninand back toSaint-Peterburgin 1991 following thedissolution of the Soviet Union.After 1830, in the wake of theGreek War of Independenceand the establishment of an independent Greek state, Turkish, Slavic and Italian place names were Hellenized, as an effort of "toponymic cleansing." This nationalization of place names can also manifest itself in apostcolonialcontext.[43]
In Canada, there have been initiatives in recent years "to restore traditional names to reflect the Indigenous culture wherever possible".[44]Indigenous mappingis a process that can include restoring place names byIndigenous communitiesthemselves.
Frictions sometimes arise between countries because of toponymy, as illustrated by theMacedonia naming disputein whichGreecehas claimed the nameMacedonia,theSea of Japan naming disputebetweenJapanandKorea,as well as thePersian Gulf naming dispute.On 20 September 1996 a note on the internet reflected a query by a Canadian surfer, who said as follows: 'One producer of maps labeled the water body "Persian Gulf" on a 1977 map of Iran, and then "Arabian Gulf", also in 1977, in a map which focused on theGulf States.I would gather that this is an indication of the "politics of maps", but I would be interested to know if this was done to avoid upsetting users of the Iran map and users of the map showing Arab Gulf States'. This symbolizes a further aspect of the topic, namely the spilling over of the problem from the purely political to the economic sphere.[45]
Geographic names boards[edit]
Ageographic names boardis an official body established by a government to decide on official names for geographical areas and features.
Most countries have such a body, which is commonly (but not always) known under this name. Also, in some countries (especially those organised on a federal basis), subdivisions such as individual states or provinces will have individual boards.
Individual geographic names boards include:
- Antarctic Place-names Commission
- Commission nationale de toponymie(National toponymy commission -France)
- Geographical Names Board of Canada
- Geographical Names Board of New South Wales
- New Zealand Geographic Board
- South African Geographical Names Council
- United States Board on Geographic Names
Notable toponymists[edit]
- Marcel Aurousseau(1891–1983), Australian geographer, geologist, war hero, historian and translator
- Guido Borghi(born 1969), Italian historical linguist and toponymist
- Andrew Breeze(born 1954), English linguist
- William Bright(1928–2006), American linguist
- Richard Coates(born 1949), English linguist
- Joan Coromines(1905–1997), etymologist, dialectologist, toponymist
- Albert Dauzat(1877–1955), French linguist
- Eilert Ekwall(1877–1964, Sweden)
- Yoel Elitzur
- Henry Gannett(1846–1914), American geographer
- Margaret Gelling(1924–2009), English toponymist
- Michel Grosclaude(1926–2002), philosopher and French linguist
- Erwin Gustav Gudde
- Joshua Nash,Australian linguist and toponymist
- Ernest Nègre(1907–2000), French toponymist
- W. F. H. Nicolaisen(1927–2016), folklorist, linguist, medievalist
- Oliver Padel(born 1948), English medievalist and toponymist
- Francesco Perono Cacciafoco(born 1980), Italian historical linguist and toponymist
- Robert L. Ramsay(1880–1953), American linguist
- Adrian Room(1933–2010), British toponymist and onomastician
- Charles Rostaing(1904–1999), French linguist
- Henry Schoolcraft(1793–1864), American geographer, geologist and ethnologist
- Walter Skeat(1835–1912), British philologist
- Albert Hugh Smith(1903–1967), scholar of Old English and Scandinavian languages
- Frank Stenton(1880–1967), historian of Anglo-Saxon England
- George R. Stewart(1895–1980), American historian, toponymist and novelist
- Jan Paul Strid(1947–2018), Swedish toponymist
- Isaac Taylor(1829–1901), philologist, toponymist and Anglican canon of York
- Jan Tent,Australian linguist and toponymist
- James Hammond Trumbull(1821–1897), American scholar and philologist
- William J. Watson(1865–1948), Scottish scholar
See also[edit]
Related concepts[edit]
Toponymy[edit]
Hydronymy[edit]
Regional toponymy[edit]
- Biblical toponyms in the United States
- Celtic toponymy
- German toponymy
- Germanic toponymy
- Historical African place names
- Japanese place names
- Korean toponymy and list of place names
- List of English exonyms for German toponyms
- List of French exonyms for Dutch toponyms
- List of French exonyms for German toponyms
- List of French exonyms for Italian toponyms
- List of Latin place names in Europe
- List of modern names for biblical place names
- List of renamed places in the United States
- List of U.S. place names connected to Sweden
- List of U.S. States and Territorial demonyms
- List of U.S. state name etymologies
- List of U.S. state nicknames
- Maghreb toponymy
- Names of European cities in different languages
- New Zealand place names
- Norman toponymy
- Oikonyms in Western and South Asia
- Place names of Palestine
- Place names in Sri Lanka
- Roman place names
- Toponyms of Finland
- Toponyms of Turkey
- Toponymy in the United Kingdom and Ireland
Other[edit]
- Labeling (map design)
- List of adjectival forms of place names
- List of double placenames
- List of long place names
- List of names in English with counterintuitive pronunciations
- List of places named after peace
- List of places named after Lenin
- List of places named after Stalin
- List of places named for their main products
- List of political entities named after people
- List of short place names
- List of tautological place names
- List of words derived from toponyms
- Lists of things named after places
- List of geographic acronyms and initialisms
- List of geographic portmanteaus
- List of geographic anagrams and ananyms
- United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names
- UNGEGN Toponymic Guidelines
- All pages with titles beginning withToponymy
- All pages with titles containingToponymy
References[edit]
- ^abcdefgPerono Cacciafoco, Francesco; Cavallaro, Francesco Paolo (March 2023).Place Names: Approaches and Perspectives in Toponymy and Toponomastics.Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.ISBN9781108780384.Archivedfrom the original on 17 May 2023.Retrieved17 May2023.
- ^Wyrwas, Katarzyna. 5 December 2004. § "Czy nauka zajmująca się nazewnictwem miast to onomastyka? Według jakich kategorii dzieli się pochodzenie nazw?Archived9 August 2020 at theWayback Machine[Is science dealing with city names an onomastics? What categories does the origin of names fall into?]. "Poradniki Językowe.Katowice, PL:Uniwersytetu Śląskiego w Katowicach.
- ^Českʹy jazyk a literatura(in Czech), vol. 11, Státní pedagogické nakl., 1961, p. 176
- ^Ormeling, F. J. Sr. (16–18 October 1989). "Terms used in geographical names standardization". In Tichelaar, T. R. (ed.).Proceedings of the Workshop on Toponymy held in Cipanas, Indonesia.Cibinong: Bakosurtanal.
- ^United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names, London, 10–31 May 1972.New York:United Nations Dept. of Economic and Social Affairs.1974. p. 68.
- ^Room 1996,p. 13, 23, 27, 62, 80.
- ^Marulić(in Croatian), vol. 35, Hrvatsko književno društvo sv. Ćirila i Metoda, 2002, p. 1183
- ^Tent, Jan (2015)."Approaches to Research in Toponymy".Names.63(2): 65–74.doi:10.1179/0027773814Z.000000000103.S2CID144115142.
- ^"toponymy, n.",OED Online,Oxford University Press, June 2021,retrieved13 March2022
- ^"toˈponymist" appears in 1850s
- ^Room 1996,p. 46.
- ^Room 1996,p. 27.
- ^abRoom 1996,p. 4.
- ^Room 1996,p. 20.
- ^Room 1996,p. 33.
- ^Room 1996,p. 34.
- ^Room 1996,p. 35.
- ^Room 1996,p. 25.
- ^abcRoom 1996,p. 13.
- ^Room 1996,p. 51.
- ^Room 1996,p. 48.
- ^Room 1996,p. 56.
- ^Room 1996,p. 71.
- ^Room 1996,p. 79.
- ^Room 1996,p. 84.
- ^Room 1996,p. 54.
- ^Room 1996,p. 75.
- ^Room 1996,p. 92.
- ^Room 1996,p. 104.
- ^Room 1996,p. 49.
- ^Room 1996,p. 23.
- ^Room 1996,p. 62.
- ^Room 1996,p. 80.
- ^Stewart, George Rippey (7 August 1975).Names on the Globe(1st ed.). Oxford University Press.ISBN978-0-19-501895-0.
- ^Koldewey, K. (1871. Die erste Deutsche Nordpolar-Expedition im Jahre 1868. In:Petermanns Geographische Mitteilungen, Ergäzungsband VI,p. 182.
- ^Powicke, F. M.1954. "Armstrong, Mawer, Stenton and Dickins 'The Place-Names of Cumberland' (1950–53)" (book review).The English Historical Review69. p. 312.
- ^McDavid, R.I. (1958). "Linguistic Geographic and Toponymic Research".Names.6(2): 65–73.doi:10.1179/nam.1958.6.2.65.
- ^Kaups, M. (1966). "Finnish Place Names in Minnesota: A Study in Cultural Transfer".The Geographical Review.56(3). Geographical Review, Vol. 56, No. 3: 377–397.Bibcode:1966GeoRv..56..377K.doi:10.2307/212463.JSTOR212463.
- ^Eighth United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names.United Nations. Department of Economic and Social Affairs. 2002.ISBN9789211009156.[permanent dead link]
- ^Pinchevski, Amit; Torgovnik, Efraim (May 2002). "Signifying passages: the signs of change in Israeli street names".Media, Culture & Society.24(3): 365–388.doi:10.1177/016344370202400305.S2CID144414677.
- ^Azaryahu, Maoz (2009)."Naming the past: The significance of commemorative street names".Critical Toponymies: The Contested Politics of Place Naming.Routledge.ISBN9780754674535.Archivedfrom the original on 29 August 2021.Retrieved29 October2020.
- ^Lincoln, Bruce (2000).Sunlight at Midnight: St. Petersburg and the Rise of Modern Russia.Basic Books.ISBN9780786730896.Archivedfrom the original on 27 August 2021.Retrieved29 October2020.
- ^Rose-Redwood, Reuben; et al. (2009)."Geographies of toponymic inscription: new directions in critical place-name studies".Progress in Human Geography:460.
- ^"Indigenous-place-names".9 June 2017.Archivedfrom the original on 23 August 2021.Retrieved23 August2021.
- ^Kadmon, Naftali (2004)."Toponymy and Geopolitics: The Political Use — and Misuse — of Geographical Names"(PDF).The Cartographic Journal.41(2): 85–87.Bibcode:2004CartJ..41...85K.doi:10.1179/000870404X12897.S2CID128707537.Archived(PDF)from the original on 17 September 2016.Retrieved31 May2016.
Sources[edit]
- Bruck, Gabriele vom; Bodenhorn, Barbara, eds. (2009) [2006].An Anthropology of Names and Naming(2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.[permanent dead link]
- Perono Cacciafoco, Francesco; Cavallaro, Francesco Paolo (2023).Place Names: Approaches and Perspectives in Toponymy and Toponomastics.Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.ISBN9781108780384.Archivedfrom the original on 17 May 2023.Retrieved17 May2023.
- Room, Adrian (1996).An Alphabetical Guide to the Language of Name Studies.Lanham and London: The Scarecrow Press.ISBN9780810831698.
Further reading[edit]
- Berg, Lawrence D. and Jani Vuolteenaho. 2009.Critical Toponymies (Re-Materialising Cultural Geography).Ashgate Publishing.ISBN978-0754674535
- Buch-Jepsen, Anders."Place Name Etymology: Common Elements in Danish Place Names".MyDanishRoots.Archived fromthe originalon 30 April 2009.
- Cablitz, Gabriele H. 2008. "When 'what' is 'where': A linguistic analysis of landscape terms, place names and body part terms in Marquesan (Oceanic, French Polynesia)."Language Sciences30(2/3):200–26.
- Desjardins, Louis-Hébert. 1973.Les nons géographiques: lexique polyglotte, suivi d'un glossaire de 500 mots.Leméac.
- Hargitai, Henrik I. 2006. "Planetary Maps: Visualization and Nomenclature."Cartographica41(2):149–64
- Hargitai, Henrik I., Hugh S. Greqorv, Jan Osburq, and Dennis Hands. 2007. "Development of a Local Toponym System at the Mars Desert Research Station."Cartographica42(2):179–87.
- Harvalík, Milan; Caffarelli, Enzo, eds. (2007)."Onomastic Terminology: An International Survey"(PDF).Rivista Italiana di Onomastica.13(1): 181–220.Archived(PDF)from the original on 22 April 2021.Retrieved1 January2021.
- Hercus, Luise, Flavia Hodges, and Jane Simpson. 2009.The Land is a Map: Placenames of Indigenous Origin in Australia.Pandanus Books.
- Kadmon, Naftali. 2000.Toponymy: the lore, laws, and language of geographical names.Vantage Press.
- Perono Cacciafoco, Francesco and Francesco Paolo Cavallaro. 2023.Place Names: Approaches and Perspectives in Toponymy and Toponomastics.Cambridge University Press.ISBN9781108748247,ISBN9781108780384Book 0;Book 1Archived17 May 2023 at theWayback Machine;DOI
External links[edit]
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg/40px-Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg.png)
- Who Was Who in North American Name Study
- Forgotten Toponymy Board (German)
- The origins of British place names(archived 1 March 2012)
- An Index to the Historical Place Names of Cornwall
- Celtic toponymy(archived 10 February 2012)
- The Doukhobor Gazetteer,Doukhobor Heritage website, by Jonathan Kalmakoff.
- O'Brien Jr., Francis J. (Moondancer)"Indian Place Names—Aquidneck Indian Council"
- Ghana Place Names
- Index Anatolicus: Toponyms of Turkey
- TheUniversity of Nottingham's:Key to English Place-namessearchable map.
- The Etymology of Mars crater namesonInternet Archive