Revised Typology of Place-Naming

A functional and systematic typology of toponyms is an essential instrument for the toponymist wishing to investigate the naming practices and patterns of a region. To this end, the Australian National Placenames Survey developed a toponym typology for Australia (Tent & Blair 2011). This was characterized as a ‘typology of motivations for naming’. Although various researchers have used this typology with seeming success, further application of the typology to the Survey’s database of toponyms has revealed the need for a re-evaluation of the naming process. This occasioned a modification of some toponym categories generating a revised typology which can be considered a ‘typology of expressions of the naming intention’.

Can one artist name an unnamed road after himself?

Process of rapid urbanisation in China during recent years have created the need for names to be given to new urban roads. However, due to the inattention of institutions charged with responsibilities for place-naming, some roads remain unnamed. Although these unnamed roads have been overlooked by China’s municipal authorities and by toponymic scholars, they have attracted the attention of Yulu Ge. In 2013, Ge named an unnamed road in Beijing after himself as a work of public art, aiming to urge the government to improve urban governance and to raise public awareness about the necessity of civic engagement. While there are many studies on the critical toponymy and geographies of public art, little attention has been paid to place-naming as a work of public art and the popular responses to it. This article considers how Ge conducted his public art and the attitudes of city residents who had knowledge of it. It is argued that Ge’s artistic practice has brought convenience to residents’ everyday lives and has led city authorities and urban communities to pay greater attention to unnamed roads. However, questions remain over the role of the artist as a disruptive presence in the city’s orderly structure. Therefore, this article argues that the disputes over the Geyu Road remind artists and scholars to consider how place-naming as an artistic practice can intervene in urban lives in a more appropriate way, and the extent to which authorities and urban society can accommodate creative and effective interventions such as Ge’s place-naming practices.

Black Caviar Perturbs Reflection of Russian Geography: A Research Note of Aquaculture-Triggered Place Naming Puzzle

Black caviar is often thought to be a typically Russian luxurious food product. Recently, its production has extended due to sturgeon aquaculture development. The analysis of the geographical affinities of the full-cycle companies and their aquaculture-sourced black caviar implies that the majority of them employs the Russian Caviar brand and/or refers to the Russian traditions and history. However, names, brands, and/or product positioning of several companies tend to mention geographical objects associated with the tradition places of black caviar production (Astrakhan, the Caspian Sea, and the Volga River), whereas these companies are located in the other, sometimes remote places (with distances over 1000 km). Such marketing solutions of black caviar producers perturb reflection of the Russian geography. The geographical indication (place of origin) of this fish product needs improvement, which is a task for companies, state, and professional societies.

Multiple Avalons: Place naming practices and a mythical Arthurian island

The island of Avalon features in British Arthurian legendry. While its very existence — let alone any actual location it may have had — is contentious, it is now commonly associated with Glastonbury, in the English county of Somerset. Illustrating its enduring appeal, Avalon’s name has also been affixed to a number of international locations over the last 500 years. There have been various motivations for such place naming, including religious beliefs, personal associations, and various types of boosterism, all attempting to imbue New World locales with Old World mystique through nomenclative association. This article surveys the deployment of the concept of Avalon through anglophonic colonial and post-colonial place naming and examines the varying ways in which the name has been applied in different national and local contexts. Its survey reveals direct references to the legendary isle in place naming between the 17th and early 20th centuries and, generally, more weakly associative and/or arbitrary connections over the last century. The study contributes to the expansion of island studies by analysing how a mythical island has been projected onto various non-island locations, and contributes to the development of toponymic studies by examining multiple uses of a single place name.

ON THE INTRODUCTION OF THE TERM «COGNITIVE TOPONYMY»

Географические названия, несмотря на их денотативный характер, до недавнего времени не были объектом пристального внимания ученых-когнитивистов. Однако недавние исследования в области когнитивной лингвистики дали толчок развитию топонимики в этом направлении. Когнитивный аспект является основополагающим по отношению к топонимам в рамках той среды, в которой они функционируют, и делает возможным комплексное исследование топонимии региона. В ментальной системе с целостным мышлением язык и, внутри языка, топонимические представления, составляющие часть ментального лексикона, взаимосвязаны с пространственными представлениями. В статье анализируется как российская, так и зарубежная современная научная литература по когнитивному подходу к изучению топонимики, которая показывает, что в целом исследователи осторожно относятся к терминологии в когнитивно-топонимическом контексте, предпочитая заменять словосочетание «когнитивная топонимика» длинными описательными конструкциями. Тем не менее складывающаяся в мире ономастики ситуация говорит о постепенной интеграции данного понятия в лингвистическую термино¬систему. Автор задается вопросом о целесообразности введения термина «когнитивная топонимика» и обосновывает вывод о его необходимости в системе ономастической терминологии. В статье разрабатываются определения понятий «когнитивная топонимика» и «когнитивный топоним», делаются предположения о целях и задачах когнитивной топонимики как науки. Тесная связь между научно-познавательным подходом и топонимикой подтверждается примерами. Особое внимание уделяется роли зрительного и ментального восприятия в географических наименованиях. В рамках когнитивной топонимики, по оценкам автора, в дальнейшем будут изучаться воплощения информации в географических названиях, а также особенности использования топонимической лексики по сравнению с другими формами актуализации информации. По мнению автора, особо эффективным станет комплексный метод изучения топонимических единиц в рамках когнитивного анализа географических названий в сочетании со статистическим анализом, историко-географической реконструкцией, дескриптивным методом и методом картографирования ГИС. Place names, in spite of their denotative character, haven't been the object of close attention of cognitive scientists until recently. However, recent studies in cognitive linguistics have given impetus to the development of toponymy in this direction. The article analyzes both Russian and foreign scientific literature on the cognitive approach to the study of toponymics, which shows that, in general, researchers are cautious with terminology in the cognitive-toponymic context, preferring to replace the word combination «cognitive toponymy» with descriptive constructions. The author asks the question about the expediency of introducing the term «cognitive toponymy» and substantiates the conclusion about its necessity in onomastic terminology system. The article develops definitions for the concepts of «cognitive toponymy» and «cognitive toponym», makes assumptions about the goals and objectives of cognitive toponymy as a science. The close connection between scientific-cognitive approach and toponymy is supported by examples. Particular emphasis is made on the role of visual and mental perception in place naming. In the author’s opinion, the future lies with the complex method of studying toponymic units within the cognitive analysis of geographical names in combination with statistical analysis, historical and geographical reconstruction, descriptive method and GIS mapping method.

Oak Point or Dog Point?

Chapter Six confirms the findings of chapter Five, via an examination of the dispute over the name of the town that is either Pointe au Chien or Pointe aux Chênes. Place naming is an important part of place-making: those who name a place are the authentic stewards of the place. The chapter traces the history of the confusion and shows that the long-standing dispute seems to pattern along ethnic lines today. However, via an examination of many factors, including the linguistic landscape, storytelling, and a consideration of semantics, it becomes clear that both groups lay claim to the same space, using the same means to do so. Because place is so closely tied to personal identity, the competing goals of the two sub-groups results in the need to characterize the place differently. The dispute over the name is not a dispute over boundaries or stewardship, but rather over characterization.