THE HISTORY OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF TOPONYMS IN THE ENGLISH NATIONAL CULTURE

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THE HISTORY OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF TOPONYMS IN THE ENGLISH NATIONAL CULTURE

Annotation. Currently, scientific research is more actively, dynamically and fruitfully formed at the junction of various branches of knowledge. This is also toponymy — the science of geographical names. As a field of knowledge, it has been actively formed for a long time, but the interest in it from both scientists and ordinary people is not decreasing, but is constantly increasing. In this regard, the actuality of this article is determined by the interest in the history of the development of toponyms in the light of the interaction of languages and cultures. The work reflects not only the history of the formation of names of geographical objects, but also the actual processes of transformation of the meanings of toponyms in English culture. The object of research in this work is the English-language and foreign toponyms presented in modern dictionaries of the English language; the subject of this study is the lexicographic development of toponyms in dictionaries of the English language. The aim of the work is an attempt to study and analyze geographical names in toponymic layers to identify the national and cultural specifics of English toponyms.

Key words: homonyms, toponyms, lexicography, culture, geography, dictionary

As you know, vocabulary is the most dynamic side of the language in any period of time. It represents the least degree of abstractions in the language, since the word is always subject-oriented; it can be borrowed or formed anew from the elements available in the language. Being an integral part of the language system, vocabulary, including toponymic, develops and enriches together with this system, being in very complex and multilateral relations with it.

Geographical names, being a special part of onomastic vocabulary, represent multidimensional linguistic units and indicate interethnic language contacts. Toponyms are considered in the linguoculturological aspect — a fairly new and relevant direction of linguistics, which allows us to trace the connection between language and culture. Each region is a special topspace that preserves, to some extent even preserves, the peculiarities of the mentality of the people and their culture.

The reflection of toponyms in English dictionaries is of particular interest. The largest publishers of lexicographic products Oxford University Press, Harper Collins Publishers, Longman Dictionaries, Merriam — Webster Dictionaries and others regularly monitor various groups of users, which gives them the opportunity to respond in a timely manner to changes in language learning and bring their products as close as possible to the image of an ideal dictionary. Such a dictionary should be adequate, i.e. reflecting the real state of the language, convenient and attractive to the user, making it possible to optimize information search. It should also be noted that the language is a reflection of national culture, which means that the dictionary should be culturally oriented, helping the user to master the language in its live functioning.

Onomastic vocabulary is studied in detail in the works of many domestic and foreign linguists (A.E.Bizhkenova, Zh.N. Zhunusova, V. D. Belenkaya, M. Ya. Beach, R. A. Komarova, V. E. Staltman, A.V. Superanskaya, N. I. Tolstoy, V. N. Tomakhin, R. Cameron, D. Dorward, J. Katz, E. Pulgram; N. Soerensen).

Toponymy as a scientific discipline owes much of its differentiation into a special branch of knowledge due to the practical demands of science. Scientists of the XVIII — XIX centuries were among the first to accumulate and use the names of objects in the process of their description and mapping.

The origin of the foundations of scientific toponymy is associated with the emergence of a comparative historical method in linguistics. Nevertheless, some of the early works in the field of the study of geographical names were nothing more than interpretations of names, studies of folk etymology. Over time, there are works that testify to the formation of toponymy as a special branch of knowledge.

THE HISTORY OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF TOPONYMS IN THE ENGLISH NATIONAL CULTURE

There are three periods in the development of onomastics:

1) pre-scientific or preparatory (before the XIX century, before the use of the comparative historical method to explain the origin of toponyms);

2) the formation of onomastics as a science (XIX — early XX century). The study of toponymic vocabulary is characteristic, taking into account historical and geographical data, as well as phonetic laws discovered by comparative historical linguistics.

3) scientific or onomastic (from the 20s of the XX century to the present). It is characterized by awareness of onomastic material and requires the allocation of toponymy into an independent science [1, 36-37].

In the preparatory and formation period of science, toponymic material is collected on the basis of written monuments, the historical and geographical side of toponymic models is studied. The works of scientists are historical onomasticons, in which the existing forms of names were recorded.

This period was an important step towards a systematic approach to the study of toponyms: 1) toponymic material is being collected; 2) the study of the origin of geographical names, which contributed to the further formation of scientific etymology; 3) identification of the connection between toponyms and the realities of public life.

It should be noted that toponymy has been developing independently for a long time, since the XVIII century, being the subject of study by linguists and historians. The atomistic approach to the study of geographical names hindered their study in the system (as a whole) and the multidimensional consideration of names.

Since the end of the XIX century, interest in toponymy has increased due to the demands of practical grammar and cartography. Works on toponymy appear, commissions and communities for the study of geographical names are organized in the USA, England, Russia, France, Germany and Poland.

Thus, in the XVIII – XIX centuries, the foundations of the toponymic direction were laid, considerable material was accumulated, certain particular patterns of toponymy were revealed.

A systematic approach to the study of names acquires a multidimensional character. A wide range of questions arises: 1) morphological and word-formation structure of toponyms; 2) problems of toponymy in terms of general linguistics; 3) sociolinguistic issues; 4) historical and linguistic issues; 5) pragmatic aspect [2, 5].

THE HISTORY OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF TOPONYMS IN THE ENGLISH NATIONAL CULTURE

Toponymy as a science was developed in the works of scientists of the second half of the XX century. Historians, geographers, linguists argued about which area of knowledge to attribute this discipline to. To a large extent, the theory and practice of studying geographical names was predetermined by the works of linguists. V. A. Nikonov in the book «Introduction to Toponymy» formulated a number of basic toponymic laws, showed the historicity of toponymy, developed a typology and classification of toponyms.

A.V. Superanskaya made a significant contribution by developing the theory of proper names («General Theory of proper names», 2007). The theoretical foundations of toponymic research are considered in the works of O. N. Trubachev, V. N. Toporov, N. I. Tolstoy, A. I. Popov, Yu. A. Karpenko and others. The general linguistic problems of geographical names are dealt with by V. A. Zhuchkevich, E. M. Murzaev. Particular problems of toponymy are considered by V. D. Belenkaya, O. A. Leonovich, G. D. Tomakhin (English-language toponymy), G. P. Smolitskaya (Russian toponymy).

In England, interest in geographical names is manifested in the late XIX — early XX century. Among the first English researchers who contributed to the formation of toponymy, we should mention G. Alexander, A. H. Smith, E. Equala, K. Cameron. Researchers are mainly engaged in the study of the etymology of toponyms and publish dictionaries of the origin of names.

Toponymy and the need to study it is due to the significant scientific and practical significance of toponyms for a number of scientific fields. There are a number of sciences especially interested in onomastic, including toponymic material (history, geography, archeology, ethnography). The question of the place of toponymy in the general system of sciences has been debatable until recently. Some scientists consider it a borderline science, a science at the junction of geography, history and linguistics, the latter distinguish it into an independent one, the third consider it linguistic.

There is a historical component in toponymy. But here we study not the history of peoples and states, but the history of language. Historical events are not directly reflected in the language, since toponyms are an autonomous system that is difficult to be influenced by external influences, but changes according to its own laws. But for the historical science itself, geographical names are of great value because they play the role of similarity of the remnants of material culture.

Toponymic information is a kind of documents that have the meanings of primary sources. For example, historians can determine the relative age of a village based on the type of name. Toponymic evidence is especially valuable for countries that do not have written sources. Geographical names can also be classified according to the historical principle, according to the time and history of their occurrence.

Memorial names given in memory of the discoverers, great people, etc. have historical significance.

The geographical component is also present in toponymy. But, as the A.V. Superanskaya, «this is a special linguistic geography concerned with the study of ancient settlement site on the surface of individual words and even individual shades of meaning for some of them, «the journey» some words «resettlement» their territory» (A. V. Superanskaya). The origin of many geographical names is closely related to the features of the geographical environment in which the nature of the area is displayed. In linguistic analysis, this information about the terrain features of a geographical object can be largely relevant. Often, the solution to complex issues of hydronymy lies not in the names of rivers themselves, but in the toponymic landscape. Therefore, without taking into account the geographical features of the object, etymological research may be unsuccessful. The importance of toponyms for geography is also great, many of which have become common names and have entered geographical terminology.

S. N. Basik, who studies the geographical aspect of toponymy to a greater extent than the linguistic one, gives a more detailed classification based on geographical affiliation, he identifies 8 major types of toponyms:

Oronyms are the proper name of any object of the relief of the earth’s surface — both convex (mountain, mountain range, hill) and concave (valley, ravine, depression, gorge, pit), that is, any orographic object (Ruapehu, Mount Tarawera, the Grampians).

Buronyms are the names of large geographical areas (England, Wales, Scotland).

Urbanonyms are varieties of toponyms that denote the names of inner-city objects: blocks, streets, squares, boulevards, alleys, embankments, avenues, memorial monuments, theaters, museums, cinemas, cafes, hotels, shops, individual houses.

The features of English urbanonyms include the widespread use of names with the component street ‘street’ (High Street, King Street for the name of the main street of a city or village, Tabard Street, Pear Tree Street, Baker Street), gate ‘road’, as well as; street names that include the names of parts of the world (North, South, East, West Streets, Northgate, Eastgate). Urbanonyms are often compound phrases with the road component ‘road’ (Mile End Road, Beechwood Road, Clever Road).

Oikonyms — the name of the locality. On the territory of the UK, oikonyms may contain components in their structure that denote housing or construction. They include elements such as: borough (or burgh, bury) ‘small town, locality’ (Woodborough, Flookborough, Canterbury, Dewsbury, Edinburgh). house ‘house’ (Woodhouse, Summerhouse), stead ‘estate farm, land plot’ (Hampstead. Berkhamsted. Wrinstead). Especially widespread in the toponymy of Great Britain has a component — chester (caster, chester, cester, ceter), which goes back to the Latin castra ‘fortification, camp’ (Gloucester, Manchester, Worcester, Chester, Exeter).

Hydronyms are names of water bodies (rivers, lakes, seas, bays, straits, channels). Most of the hydronyms of Great Britain fall on the northern part, that is, the territory of Scotland. Many names in this part of the country contain the loch component, which means ‘lake’ in Scottish. Hydronyms with the specified component may differ by location, for example: Loch Lochy (from Gaelic Loch Lochaidh) is a lake whose name literally means «Lake in the lake».

The above-mentioned toponymic classes name various geographical objects grouped by their common geographical feature, and form the basis of the toponymic system. территориальнаяThe toponymic system is territorial. This is a system of locally limited, variegated by linguistic affiliation, specific vocabulary for denoting regional geographical realities [4].

To date, the toponymy of England is quite well studied in structural and etymological aspects. It is an integral system that has developed over many centuries and under the influence of many languages. The modern map of the country largely reflects the process of forming a unified system of numerous and heterogeneous elements.

The growing attention to the place names of England is noticeable in the numerous works of later amateur researchers who explain geographical names based on false folk etymology, which can be explained by the fact that the names are valuable material for illuminating the history in general and the history of languages in particular. As a rule, toponyms reflect the oldest states of linguistic units, phonetic and morphological phenomena that could disappear from the sphere of common names.

Having a pronounced interdisciplinary character, toponymic vocabulary allows you to connect the study of the English language with the literature and history of the English people, its culture.

THE HISTORY OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF TOPONYMS IN THE ENGLISH NATIONAL CULTURE

For toponymists in England, diachronic research is the predominant direction. Representatives of the English Toponymic Society D. Dodgson, K. Cameron, A. H. Smith build etymological classifications by identifying the original etymons in the names. At the same time, each toponym is considered from the moment of its origin, which makes it possible to trace morphological changes in the process of evolution at different stages of the development of the English language: ancient, middle, new.

Great Britain and the English language have undergone successive influx of immigrants, such as the Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Vikings, Normans, each invasion has contributed to the history, the development of the language and was reflected in place names.

The modern map of the country reflects the process of toponymy formation. Despite the fact that not all languages have survived to our times, there are words on the map of England that were created in different eras, in different languages. Names can reveal not only what a certain place looked like, but also how important it was to the person who gave it the name, as well as who named it and when. In connection with the consideration of the problem of the influence of various languages on the toponymy of England, it is necessary to study the impact of a particular language in the corresponding period and how long the traces of this impact remained.

The first English names appeared in Britain between the V and VII centuries with the appearance and settlement of the Angles and Saxons from Europe [6, 245].

Some names of England are very old. For example, «Allen», found in Allendale and Alnmouth, belongs to a very ancient language, which remains unknown today, as well as the fact who spoke it, therefore it is referred to as «pre-Celtic» [6, 242].

The modern toponymy of England, which was formed under the influence of a number of languages, is the result of the centuries-old development of names and represents a single system of names, which was formed from numerous and heterogeneous components. The official language of England is English, but the toponyms of this country are only partially English. Among the majority of very old names, some of which have existed for more than a thousand years, several toponymic backgrounds can be distinguished, and first of all, of course, Celtic.

In the process of the historical development of names, historical layers of toponymy arise, that is, when toponymic flows intersect, one covers the other and forms a regional toponymic system:

a) the Celtic toponymic layer; The geography of the settlement of the Celts can be traced thanks to the regularly recurring component wal- (other-English walh, walas «Britons»), which indicates the location of the Celtic population after the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons in the VI century and the possible preservation of Celtic elements. For example, the name of the Walcot farm «house of the Britons» may indicate that Celts lived in this area.

b) Latin elements; To create a temporary western border along the road the Fosse Way, leading from Exeter to Lincoln, the Romans had to cross the north-western part of Oxfordshire, from where the construction of Akeman Street (Akeman Street) – one of the oldest and most important roads in England — began. The origin of the first component of the name Akeman Street is reliably unknown. The final element street comes from the Latin strata meaning «paved road» or «Roman road». In some geographical names, the street toposnova acts as an initial component.

To date, only two names have been preserved in England that are completely Latin: Catterick (North Yorkshire County) and Speen (Berkshire County) [7, 20-21].

c) the Anglo-Saxon toponymic layer; the Anglo-Saxon layer of toponyms reflect the formants: -ing — the suffix of the accessory or genitive case, ham «dwelling, manor, village», hampton, ton «farm with services, village», wic «dairy farm», borough (bergh, burh) «fortification». The Old English names are based on nouns: clif, cumb, ende, ford, sand, thorn, wella, which can be correlated with the modern words cliff, hollow, end of an estate or district, ford, sand, thorn-tree, well, respectively.

d) Scandinavian elements; the Scandinavians brought with them a set of personal names that were used for the names of villages, secondary settlements. In many names, the proper name acted as the first element of the toponym, and the geographical term was the second: Dunthorp «Dunn settlement». The Scandinavians, like the Anglo-Saxons, used a similar naming system. The introduction of the Scandinavian word brunnr by the Danes contributed to the consolidation of the modern formant -bourne «spring, key, stream» in English toponymy. For example, the names of fields come from a stream that flowed near these objects: East Hagbourne, West Hagbourne.   Thus, the Scandinavian influence on the geographical names of the country is very insignificant. 

e) French elements. The influence of the French language on the place names of England can be clearly traced in the names of monasteries and castles. These names were transferred directly from France: Rewley Abbey «royal place». The name is a dedication and serves as a reminder of the founder of the monastery, Richard, brother of Henry III.  The godonym Carfax comes from the French word of Latin origin quadrifurcus and means «four-forked». Probably, this name refers to the place where four roads or streets intersected.

Toponymic strata are a historical category, that is, changing. The reason for these changes may be migration processes. But regardless of how radically toponyms change, the names of previous eras are preserved along with the new ones.

The toponymic system of England, which has developed historically, is heterogeneous and combines materials from several languages from different historical eras. The influence of Celtic, Latin, Scandinavian, Anglo-Saxon, French elements on the toponymy of England is considered, the process of forming an integral system of county toponymy from numerous and heterogeneous components is studied. In addition, the history of the origin and evolution of geographical names, reflected in their modern form, characterizes the modern boundaries of the distribution of these toponyms.

The centuries-old and rich history of the conquest and development of the lands of England influenced the composition of the modern toponymy of the country. On the map of the studied region there are geographical names created in different epochs by different peoples and in different languages. As a result of prolonged conquests, toponymic layers are layered, names made up of elements of different languages appear, which are assimilated and adapted according to the norm of the English language.

Toponyms act not only as landmarks of the area, but primarily as cultural and historical complexes, behind which there are certain historical events, the names of the tribes that inhabited the county, the time of the development of the territory are imprinted. Thus, geographical names give a special flavor to the area, forming the same space of the country.

The onomastic space is concrete, that is, each ethnic group has a certain set of lexical units to designate and highlight a geographical object. The language set depends on the worldview of a particular people. Thus, it can be assumed that each ethnic society in a particular territory has a certain system of toponyms that has developed in a historically foreseeable period of time and space.

References:

1. Бондалетов, В. Д. Русская ономастика: учеб. пособие для студентов пед. ин-тов по спец. № 2101 «Рус. яз. и лит.» [Текст] / В. Д. Бондалетов. – М.: Просвещение, 1983. – 224 с.

2. Кузиков, В. В. Топонимика немецкого языка. Учебное пособие [Текст] / В. В. Кузиков. – Уфа: Изд. Башк. ун-та., 1985. – 80 с.

3. Суперанская, А. В. Что такое топонимика? [Текст] / А. В. Суперанская. — М.: Наука, 1985. — 177 с

4. Басик, С. Н. Общая топонимика. Минск: БГУ. 2008. 168 с. [Basik, S. N. General Toponymy. Minsk: Belarusian State University Press. 2008. 168 p.

5. Фролов, Н. К. Избранные работы по языкознанию: В 2 т. Т. 2. Топонимика и этнонимика [Текст] / Н. К. Фролов. – Тюмень: Издательство Тюменского государственного университета, 2005. – 520 с.

6. Book of British Villages. A guide to 700 of the most interesting and attractive villages in Britain. London: Drive Publication Limited, 1981. 448 p. ISBN 0393015017

7. McDonald, F. and Cresswell, J. The Guinness Book of British Place Names [Text] / F. McDonald, J. Cresswell. — London: Guinness Publishing, 1993. 160 p.

8. Ши Ц. — Критерии классификации географических названий Китая и России // Litera. – 2019. – № 6. – С. 66 — 77. DOI: 10.25136/2409-8698.2019.6.31332 URL: https://nbpublish.com/library_read_article.php?id=31332
9. Эльжерокова Э.Х. Принципы лексикографического описания топонимов в лингвострановедческих словарях на примере «Великобритания, США, Канада, Австралия, Новая Зеландия» / Ощепкова В. В. Шустилова И. И. // Молодая наука в классическом

университете. Тезисы докладов научных конференций фестивалястудентов, аспирантов и молодых ученых. Часть VII Научная конференция «АКТУАЛЬНЫЕ ПРОБЛЕМЫ ФИЛОЛОГИИ В XXI ВЕКЕ». Иваново, 21-25 апреля 2014 г. — С. 165-166.

ИСТОРИЯ РАЗВИТИЯ ТОПОНИМОВ В АНГЛЙИСКОЙ НАЦИОНАЛЬНОЙ КУЛЬТУРЕ

Аннотация. В настоящее время научные исследования более активно динамично и плодотворно формируются на стыке различных отраслей знания. Такой является и топонимика — наука о географических названиях. Как область знания, она активно формируется в течение продолжительного времени, но интерес к ней как со стороны ученых, так и обычных людей не уменьшается, а постоянно возрастает. В этой связи актуальность данной статьи определяется интересом к истории развития топонимов в свете взаимодействия языков и культур. Работа отражает не только историю формирования названий географических объектов, но и актуальные процессы трансформации значений топонимов в английской культуре. В качестве объекта исследования в настоящей работе выступают англоязычные и иностранные топонимы, представленные в современных словарях английского языка; предметом данного исследования становятся лексикографическая разработка топонимов в словарях английского языка. Цель работы является попытка изучить и проанализировать географические названия в топонимических пластах для выявления национально-культурной специфики английских топонимов.

Ключевые слова: омонимы, топонимы, лексикография, культура, география, словарь

АҒЫЛШЫН ҰЛТТЫҚ МӘДЕНИЕТІНДЕГІ ТОПОНИМДЕРДІҢ ДАМУ ТАРИХЫ

Аннотация. Қазіргі уақытта ғылыми зерттеулер әр түрлі білім салаларының қиылысында белсенді және жемісті түрде қалыптасуда. Бұл топонимика-географиялық атаулар туралы ғылым. Білім саласы ретінде ол ұзақ уақыт бойы белсенді түрде қалыптасады, бірақ ғалымдар мен қарапайым адамдар тарапынан қызығушылық азаймайды, үнемі өсіп келеді. Осыған байланысты бұл мақаланың өзектілігі тілдер мен мәдениеттердің өзара әрекеттесуі аясында топонимдердің даму тарихына қызығушылықпен анықталады. Жұмыс географиялық объектілердің атауларының қалыптасу тарихын ғана емес, сонымен бірге ағылшын мәдениетіндегі топонимдердің мағыналарын өзгертудің өзекті процестерін де көрсетеді. Қазіргі ағылшын сөздіктерінде ұсынылған ағылшын және шетелдік топонимдер осы жұмыста зерттеу нысаны ретінде әрекет етеді; бұл зерттеудің тақырыбы ағылшын сөздіктеріндегі топонимдердің лексикографиялық дамуы болып табылады. Жұмыстың мақсаты-ағылшын топонимдерінің ұлттық-мәдени ерекшелігін анықтау үшін топонимикалық қабаттардағы географиялық атауларды зерттеуге және талдауға тырысу.

Негізгі сөздер: омонимдер, топонимдер, лексикография, мәдениет, география, сөздік

KURMANBAEVA AIGERIM ERMEKOVNA,

English teacher of secondary school No. 9 named after Sayin Muratbekov

with a preschool mini center in Taldykorgan

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