Onomastica

In this paper, the issue of the correlation between the status of the onymic object, its social range and the general rules used when naming is considered. The author proposes to distinguish two basic levels of where the proper names function: a local one and a global one. Then, two particular patterns of naming are connected with these levels: an innovative pattern and a conservative pattern. The conservative names mostly refer to objects that are of social importance and have a general, wide range of functioning. On the other hand, innovative names generally refer to unstable objects that have a rather low social position, and a restricted, narrow range of functioning. Examples of both levels are analyzed, particularly the anthroponyms, toponyms and chrematonyms. The paper contains the argument, that more known conservative names have provided the characteristics of the prototypical proper name in general, and these characteristics are usually expanded to all proper names in their theoretical approaches.

The changes in the paralinguistic (social, economic, cultural) and linguistic sphere influence the quantitative and qualitative changes in a categorically diversified onomastic resource and the communicative flow of its elements on three levels of linguistic contact — nationwide, local and individual. The flow is additionally determined in the sphere of spontaneous everyday communication and in higher communicative functions (official linguistic behaviour). The accumulation of determinants which allow the usage of appropriate names and appellative forms (official and unofficial, e.g. diminutives, feminisms) involves the application of cumulative research methods, including psycho-, socio- and pragmalinguistic description of proper names functioning in communication. The contemporary theory of discourse in its three dimensions — formal, functional and interactional gives this possibility. It also requires the constant specification and standardization of Neoslavonic onomastic terminology.

The paper points out the role of terms in academic activity, particularly in onomastics. A survey of onomastic terms present in Polish dictionaries of linguistic terminology and onomastic encyclopaedias has been made. The need has been stressed to follow the rules of terminography in every dictionary of terms. Some normative terms, such as official name, dialectal name, minority name, have been suggested to be included as additional entries in glossaries of onomastic terms.

The article discusses the issue of proper names defined as symptoms of culture. The first part is of a theoretical character and develops the theory of symptomatology of culture in the context of semiotics (Ch. Peirce), psychology and psychoanalysis (S. Freud and J. Lacan), and onomastics. Symptomatology of culture is a practice of interpreting a certain group of texts of culture and extracting common qualitative traits within them. This is especially in the case of those traits specific to them and often encountered, which could testify to particular serious and deeply-rooted social phenomena leading to their appearance. In the empirical part the author presents a way of using (onymic) symptomatology in practice to research modern culture. She uses the examples of popular psychological and auto-therapeutic guidebooks and treats them as linguistic symptomatic forms of the most significant linguistic and cultural phenomena along with their social causes and functions which are often dysfunctional or abnormal in character. The analysis comprises the most typical conceptual and syntactic constructions encountered in the group.

The common layer of Jewish and Christian name systems consists of biblical names from the Old Testament. The comparison showing how these Old Testament names functioned in both faiths on Podlasie in 15th–16th centuries revealed a close connection between chosen names as well as their popularity over the centuries and cultural traditions formed by faith.

In the article the author discusses the practice associated with name-giving among the residents of Łódź (only Catholics of Polish origin) during the period from the beginning of the seventeenth century to the first half of the nineteenth century. The material was collected from official documents. Habits associated with the first names were treated as a kind of linguistic behaviour that implements a specific communication need of the given community. Observations of these habits show that they oscillate — like any linguistic behaviour — between automatism (and convention) and spontaneity. Conventional measures that should be considered: the use of a limited collection of names that indicate a high degree of stability in subsequent periods and against the background of habits of name-giving in the region and other territories of the former Poland (especially the most popular names of women, e.g. Marianna, Katarzyna, Agnieszka and names of men, e.g. Józef, Jan, Franciszek) and inheritance of names. In contrast, a large number of rare names (names of women, e.g. Idalia, Jokasta, Kasylda, and of men, e.g. Bonawentura, Wit, Witalis) and a visible preference in some families for the usage of rare names, e.g. Damazy, Feliks, Lubomira (including Slavic first names, e.g. Bolesław, Władysław, Bronisław) were included as spontaneous factors. Analysis of the material reveals a tendency to differentiate names depending on the social status of the inhabitants (the representatives of the noble families often used rare names). The author also draws attention to the problem of the diversity of names in Łódź (both in the context of different collections of names and different practices) depending on parameters such as the religion (Catholics, Protestants, Jews) and nationality (Poles, Germans, Czechs) of residents of the city.

The author analyses onymic practices of Poznań–based craftsmen forming guilds. In the names of the inhabitants of Poznań, which stabilised until the end of the 18th century, she seeks traces of the so-called cognomens, i.e. secondary personal designations granted to apprentices who were becoming masters. The names resulted from community acts of creation, which were of ludic nature. Referring to German onymic practices and pointing to the so-called Schleifnamen, the author discusses specific codes of European middle-class culture. She focuses on the transfer of models and patterns to Polish urban communities.

This paper is devoted to the surname changes performed through administrative channels in the interwar period. The research is based on the announcements of the “Official Gazette of the Republic of Poland” in 1929. The author describes main reasons for the decisions of surname changes taking into account characteristics of avoided surnames and chosen demographic tendencies, especially those connected with the age and profession of applicants. People of Jewish origin, Poles and representatives of other nationalities showed different motives for surname changes. Jews most frequently changed their surnames due to legal reasons — they wanted to legalize the unlawful use of a surname of the so-called ritual father. The changes carried out under the motive of assimilation occurred definitely less often. Non-Jewish applicants changed mainly appellative names, especially those derived from words related to animals. After comparing tendencies occurring before and after World War II one concludes that besides legal and assimilation factors which are particular to the pre-war decades (connected with the ethnic, legal and religious situation of the time), the remaining reasons for the surname changes are universal and do not distinguish the pre-war period from that of the post-war.

The aim of the article is to bring closer a part of the world’s image that is characteristic for the rural community and the richness and variety of the folk culture inscribed in the proprial structures. As a result, this subject requires an integration of different research methods elaborated within the fields of onomastics and dialectology, including linguistic methods of researching a lingual image of the world. The onymic material is as follows: appellative surnames, originating from nicknames formed from dialectal lexemes, surnames motivated by nominal, dialectal hypocorisms, and finally, surnames formed from matronymic phrases (female names), which are an example of an aberrance of the patriarchal family model. Phonetic and formative phenomena should also be focused upon. These are crucial for certain social micro-communities, and are inscribed in the dialectal inflexions of anthroponyms (which function as separate surnames) and marginally in the female surnames with dialectal formants. Onyms with dialectal motivation refer to, and indirectly point, to the contemporary user, the past realities of living in the village community and the lingual and cultural background.

The subjects of my examination are samples of Silesian surnames derived from the dialectal words determining objects of an animate and inanimate nature. The names of animals were more often used as a base to create the surnames derived from nicknames (derived from appellatives). They were more expressive due to their metaphoric meaning reflecting specific features of people and their evaluations. The signification of botanic (inanimate) nouns used within names was less transparent, however they are thought to refer to an anthropomorphic view of plant behaviour, e.g. dialectal woska/osika [aspen] — trembling. The belief that specific phenomena in nature have supernatural, magic or demonic powers, as well as other difficult to grasp factors, played a very important role in the creation of nicknames and later surnames for the Silesian population. The dialectal “nature” appellatives, which were the source for surnames derived from nicknames, also show that the same dialectal lexeme can have a different meaning in different Polish regions. On the other hand, dialectal lexemes which sound identical in specific Polish regions but differ semantically determine the cultural identity of the micro-speaking country. The same phenomenon can be observed within surnames.

This article deals with a group of Polish surnames motivated by lexis from the field of salt mining. The analysed surnames are excerpted from “Słownik nazwisk współcześnie w Polsce używanych”, edited by Kazimierz Rymut, as well as from other onomastic compilations. These anthroponyms vary in terms of their origins and linguistic construction. We can distinguish from among these anthroponyms: 1) surnames motivated by impersonal nouns: solanka, solnica, sól, tołpa, żupa; 2) surnames motivated by adjectives: słony, solny; 3) surnames motivated by personal nouns: prasoł, solarz, solnik, warzyc, warzysz, żupnik. The description of particular ‛salt’ surnames, apart from their frequency, includes their geographical distribution, which only in some cases is connected with the location of old salt mines, found mainly in the Lesser Poland (Małopolska).

The article presents the most frequent surname in Lithuania — Kazlauskas. Referring to the article “Mysterious Lewandowski” by K. Skowronek (2000), an attempt has been made to account for this frequency in three various ways. First, the principles behind the quantitative structure of anthroponomasticons (Zipf’s law) and the loss of surnames (genetic drift) are discussed. Then the Slavic origin of the surname under consideration has been highlighted as a typical trait of the majority of surnames in Lithuania. In connection with this fact, it has been stressed that caution must be exercised in proposing a thesis on its origin as a translation from Lithuanian on a mass scale, since this thesis requires plentiful empirical evidence. Finally, the etymology of the name is analyzed. Morphologically it is a typical surname derived from a toponym. This supposition is additionally supported by the existence in Poland of numerous localities called Kozłów, Kozłowo or similar name; these in turn are most likely to have been derived from appellative-based personal names of their owners or inhabitants, such as Kozieł.

The article shows folk nicknames operating in geographically diverse rural communities (administratively belonging to the municipality Muszyna). As unofficial anthroponyms, existing only in the spoken form, they represent a living local language — dialect. Analysis of the collected material shows that all the most important features of the language characteristic of this part of Lesser Poland (Małopolska) dialect are performed in it. Folk nicknames, despite numerous hazards caused by civilization, are still an important factor supporting the local dialect — they operate rather vividly in the ana lysed microcommunity (almost every adult has his nickname), and are constantly being created and passed down from generation to generation.

The subject of the article is the occurrence of dialectal features in Internet nicknames. The analysis was carried out on the basis of about 2500 nicknames that contained dialectal features. The names were obtained within the years 2012–2015. In the analysis, linguistic areas were indicated in which we may notice the influence of local dialects on that layer of the Internet anthroponymy. The influence of local dialects is visible in the fact that the Internet users reach for traditional folk names as well as name models related to the folk manner of identifying a human being, e.g. Jagatka, Jantecek, Janielka od Genowefy, Cesiek z Tuchowa. Apart from references to folk anthroponymy, the Internet nicknames reflect the influence of local dialect lexis (e.g. gzub, graślok, fusyt), phonetics (janioł, Carownica, łokrutny łoptymista), inflection (Śpisok z Łapsóf, ciupaga łod tater) and word-formation, e.g. (rzemyszek, cwaniuk).

Geographical names are extremely helpful in giving evidence of early settlements and their inhabitants due to their solid anchorage in the landscape, even in the case of population changes. Through the investigation of these place names, information can be gathered not only on the name giver, but also on the settlers who took on the names later on. Therefore, it is considered that any linguistic investigation has to start from the river and place names of a region.

The utilization of geographical names yields the following findings:

— The centre of Old Slavic names is situated on the northern slope of the Carpathian Mountains, approximately between Bukovina and Krakow; it is based on a substrate of older, Indo-European hydronyms.

— The expansion of the East Slavic tribes bypasses the Pripyat Marshes and extends further through Central Russia and especially to the North and the East.

— West Slavic settlers reach their new settlement areas through migration from Bohemia and further on to Saxonia and Thuringia, and also through Western Poland to Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

— The migration of the South Slavs takes place in two big, yet separate flows, on the one hand through the Moravian Gate to Slovenia, Hungary and Croatia, and on the other hand on the Eastern edge of the Carpathian Mountains to Serbia and Bulgaria.

This article deals with the name of the town Węgrów on the river Liwiec, whose name is based on the obscure hydronym Węgra Potok. This name is juxtaposed with another place name, Węgra, which is found near Przasnysz and is named after the river Węgra (today known as Węgierka), as well as other names beginning with wągr-||węgr-. The author challenges Witczak’s (2015) hypothesis that the name of Węgra comes from the Sudovian (Jatvingian, Yotvingian) language. The article raises historical, archaeological and geographical arguments that oppose the possibility of a Yotvingian influence in these regions. Consequently, the author contends that the place names have a Slavonic root, linked to the noun węgorz (a type of fish), or the meandering nature of both rivers. There is also a discussion of the name patok||potok (stream/brook).

This article is devoted to the official forms in the inflection of chosen toponyms in Poland and the variety of dialectal singular and plural place names. The variety of place names often diverges from the rules of language use, and causes language users problems. The toponyms have peculiar, locally used inflected forms; the outside-linguistic (non-linguistic) factors that are social and local factors, play an important role in the inflection of place names. The local population often uses other forms than those recommended by official sources. I focus my attention on the genitive forms of toponyms because it is mainly here that one can see clear variations in the official and local inflection of place names. The material shows that the singular masculine toponyms have genitive endings: -a (in the official variety), -u (in the local variety), for example Biłgoraj, gen. Biłgoraja, but in the local dialect: biłgoraju. The singular feminine place names have genitive endings: -ej (in the official variety), -y||-i (in the local variety): Brzezowa, gen. Brzezowej, but Brzezowy in the local dialect. The plural toponyms have genitive endings: -ø, -ów, -i (-y), but in the local circulation the ending -ów is dominant and demonstrates a wider expansion in use. For example Brzózki, gen. Brzózek, in the local variety Brzuskuf; Budy, official gen. Bud, but Buduf; Burnie, gen. Burni, in the local dialect: Burniuf. The gathered material reflects a hesitation in the inflection of toponyms, as the linguistic customs and presented dialectal records of forms of genit ives of place names show a significantly diverse approach towards the Polish language.

The main purpose of this article is to present how geographical names (microtoponyms) acquire slang names. The site of inquiry is the area of Wręczyca Wielka, which contains the names of different physiographic objects, e. g. fields, meadows, forests, paths. The data was collected from 2011 to 2015 during the informal utterances of the oldest and middle generations of the inhabitants of the area. The analysis also contains the justifications for the microtoponyms. The linguistic material was collected in the area near Kłobuck in the north of the Silesian Province. The first part of this article is devoted to the main transformation of the Polish rural areas after 1945. The latter parts of the text present e.g. the fact that microtoponyms sustain phonetic slang features which do not exist in contemporary slang, and the fact that geographical names are one of the elements of folk culture, as well as the link between the former and contemporary folk image.

The hydronym Szywra refers to the small river in the Warta basin flowing in the central part of Greater Poland. Although its name remained unclear for most of the researchers, it was believed to be of Pre-Slavic or Balto-Slavic origin. The paper reveals that these hypotheses were based on the wrong interpretation of the source material, and provides a new etymology for the name Szywra. Based on the critical analysis of all of the reachable records of names referring to the river Szywra, it has been proven that its Polish name is an adaptation of the former German name Schieferbach. Such a process was possible due to the long-term bilingual situation in the region of Greater Poland.

This article presents some cultural, historical and linguistic insights on the names of the Szczutowskie and Urszulewskie Lakes, both situated in the historical Dobrzyńskie Lakeland, today on the border between the Mazovian and Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeships (the historical border between Polish and Prussian-Teutonic states). The author also takes into account the description of the local place and terrain names, showing a common relation with the natural landscape, in which the two lakes are immersed.

The topic of the article is a description of European urbonyms which fulfilled both political and commemorative roles in the past. The city names are presented in chronological order starting from ancient times to the 20th century. The ancient toponyms are related to the expansion of the Roman Empire, and the names of Roman emperors are used as a foundation for these toponyms. Such urbonyms created on the outskirts of the Roman Empire made reference to their new political allegiance and confirmed it. These naming practices therefore played an important role in the process of territorial expansion and the consolidation of political control. This naming model was also present in Byzantium, and became popular on the outskirts of medieval Ruthenia under the influence of the Byzantine Empire. The tradition of commemorating political rulers through toponyms stayed constant in the Eastern Slavic regions, and was continued by the Russian monarchy as well as the USSR. Such naming practices were initially used as a tool for the structural organisation of Kievan Rus’, and later to erase foreign names from these regions of Tsarist Russia. In Communist times, this tradition reaffirmed the new political reality through the use of surnames of political figures in toponyms. In the 20th century there was an increase in surnames featured in urbanonyms (the names of streets, squares, housing estates). This increase was meant to preserve the memory of remarkable individuals in society.

Wine is a crucial part of the cultural history of the territory within the current borders of Bulgaria from the earliest times until now. It plays an important role in the life of Bulgarians and is a multiethnic heritage of this land. Bulgarian toponyms only archive a lexicon associated with wine in a small degree, with more toponyms found regarding vines and vineyards which were characteristic elements of the native landscape. The Bulgarian enonyms constitute a “multilingual patchwork”, where the locality (present, but not dominant) is mixed with globality. Locality is mainly reflected in the detoponymic and deanthroponymic names referring to the Bulgarian heritage and also the Thracian, Greek and Roman legacy of those lands. Globality is revealed in the linguistic “hybridity” manifested by the free use of foreign models, naming vocabulary and intertextuality appealing to a global experience. This part of Bulgarian enonymy derives mainly from the English and French language, as well as Spanish, Italian, Greek and Latin.

The Brzanka Mountain Range in the Ciężkowickie Foothills has a dense river network. Unfortunately the contemporary maps contain only the names of some main rivers of the Brzanka Mountain Range. Local communities use the same set of names of rivers as cartographers, while studies in the historical geography of the Brzanka Mountain Range reveal a wealth of local hydronyms that have seemingly been forgotten. The article attempts both to reconstruct a set of hydronyms of the Brzanka Mountain Range and to explain their etymology. It shows that hydronyms change over time and that studies on local hydronyms can help restore the collection of the names of rivers in the Brzanka Mountain Range and provide interesting information related to the past of this region. Moreover, they reveal contemporary unknown facts related to the natural environment and settlement processes in the Middle Ages. A visual summary of the article is a map showing the Brzanka Mountain Range with its river network and associated hydronyms.

In the 20th century toponymy of the Kłodzko Land underwent serious changes, which with no doubt can be called a revolution. After 1945 and the displacement of the German population all the pre-war names were substituted with Polish ones, which, unfortunately, only rarely were connected with the former tradition, in some cases as old as the middle ages. Most of new names were introduced by a special commission whose main aim was to mark that the new areas gained by Poland after the World War II (the so called Regained Territories) were successfully taken into possession. However, many places and objects (some mountain tops, rock formations, springs, parts of villages) did not receive a name. In the next decades, new local communities started to accustom the mountainous landscape and independently gave names to various nameless (in Polish) places. Unfortunately, due to the depopulation of rural areas in the Kłodzko Land and other formal reasons, the process was quite slow. The main aim of the paper is not only to analyse those changes, but also to compare the numbers of names in chosen moments of the 20th century. For this purpose three types of maps in 1 : 25 000 scale were used: pre-war (German) “Meßtischblatt”, a Polish topographic map representing the situation at the beginning of the 1970s and, finally, the “Army topographic map” from the end of the 20th century. On the first map 531 geographical names were marked, on the second — only 225, and on the third — 277, which is still approximately half of the number before 1945.

The article directly and indirectly refers to anthropological and philosophical texts which strive to discover and present the gender factor as important in the light of the humanities. The author refers to “Literackie nie-nazywanie. Onomastykon polskiej prozy współczesnej” (Literary Not-naming. Onomasticon of the modern Polish prose) by Magdalena Graf and indicates the femininity factor as a relevant one also in onomastics.