Toponyms and etnonyms in the vocabulary of Ukrainian and English

Ðàçìåùåíî íà http://www.allbest.ru/

Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine

Pavlo Tychyna Uman State Pedagogical University

Foreign Languages Department

Department of Theory and Methods of Teaching Foreign Languages

Toponyms and etnonyms in the vocabulary of Ukrainian and English

Alina Salyi

group 41

Teacher:

Biletska I.O.

Uman - 2014

Content

Introduction

Chapter I. Toponyms and etnonyms in the vocabulary of English

1.1 Toponyms and etnonyms in Great Britain

1.2 Origins of toponyms and etnonyms in the vocabulary in Englih

Chapter II. Toponyms and etnonyms in the vocabulary of Ukrainian

Conclusions

The list of references

Introduction

People from different professional backgrounds may be allured to some kind of study of geographical names. To linguists specializing either in the historical or genealogical aspects of specific languages, or in the taxonomy of languages in general, toponyms contain a treasure of ancient language elements which allows them to under build their theories or test their hypotheses. Likewise, historians may use toponym research to reveal ancient movements of peoples, or get a hint of cultural exchange patterns in forgotten ages.

Moreover, recurrent name elements are known to store information on the history of settlement and land reclamation, the economic activities of the original settlers, and political developments.

Topographers and cartographers often bear a less theoretical interest in toponymy: they simply need to know by what name(s) every object to be mapped has to be known and recorded.

As far as the last mentioned category of professionals does not study geographical names for the sake of the names themselves, but rather wants to constitute a set of rules, or standards, defining what should be considered `right' and `wrong' in the cartographic naming practice, they are involved in what we call applied toponymy. Even if exhaustive linguistic knowledge is not required to be able to practise this specific kind of applied toponymy, a basic understanding of the linguistic and historic context of the geographical names within the area of study is certainly indispensable.

Chapter I. Toponyms and etnonyms in the vocabulary of English

1.1 Toponyms and etnonyms in Great Britain

toponym etnonym vocabulary english

Toponymy in Great Britain examines the linguistic origin of place names in Great Britain, their origins and trends in naming. Toponymy is distinct from the study of etymology, which is concerned mainly with the origin of the words themselves. British toponymy is rich, complex and diverse. Modern interpretations are apt to be inexact and non-empirical. Many British forms and names have been corrupted and broken down over the years due to changes in language and culture which caused the original meanings to be lost. In some cases words used in place names are derived from languages that are extinct, and of which there are no extant known definitions. Place names may be compounds between two languages from different periods.

Place names typically have meanings which were significant to the settlers of a locality (not necessarily the first settlers). Sometimes these meanings are relatively clear (for instance Newcastle, Three Oaks), but more often elucidating them requires study of ancient languages. In general, place names in Great Britain contain three broad elements: personal names (or pre-existing names of natural features), natural features and settlement functions. However, these elements derive from ancient languages which have been spoken in the British Isles, and the combinations in a single name may not all date from the same period, or same language. Much of the inferred development of British place name relies on the breaking down and corruption of place names. As the names lose their original meaning (because a new or modified language becomes spoken), the names are either changed, or drift to new forms, or are added to. An example is Torpen how Hill, in Cumbria; the name seems to have grown by addition of new elements by people who did not understand the original name. The first syllables "tor" and "pen" being Brythonic, while "how" is derived from the Old Norse haugr and "hill" is Old English, all meaning 'hill'.

The British Isles have a very varied toponymy due the different settlement patterns, political and linguistic histories. In addition to the old and modern varieties of English, Scottish and Irish Gaelic and Welsh, many other languages and cultures have had an impact on geographical names including Anglo-Normans, Anglo Saxons, Romans and Vikings. Ultimately, most of the toponyms derive from the Celtic, North and West Germanic and Italic (including Romance) branches of the Indo-European language family, although there is evidence of some Pre-Indo-European languages.

The different toponymy in different parts of the United Kingdom and Ireland are discussed in the following articles: English toponymy, Irish toponymy covers the whole island of Ireland as the two political entities have only been separate since 1921, Scottish toponymy, Welsh toponymy.

1.2 Origins of toponyms and etnonyms in the vocabulary in Englih

The place names of England are of diverse origins, largely due to historical changes in language and culture. These affected different regions at different times and to different extents. The exact nature of these linguistic/cultural changes is often controversial, but the general consensus is as follows.

The British Isles were inhabited during the Stone and Bronze Ages by peoples whose language is unknown. During the Iron Age, we can observe that the population of Britain shared a culture with the Celtic peoples inhabiting Northern Europe at the time. Land use patterns do not appreciably change from the Bronze Age period, suggesting that the population remained in situ. The evidence from this period, in the form mainly of place-names and personal names, make it clear that a Celtic language, termed Common Brittonic, was spoken across England by the Late Iron Age. At what point these languages spread to, or indeed developed in, England, or the British Isles as a whole, is open to debate, with the majority of estimates falling at some point in the Bronze Age.

The principal substrate of British place names is thus Celtic in origin, and more specifically Brythonic ('British'), ancestral to modern Welsh and more distantly related to the Gaelic languages of Ireland and Scotland. The oldest place names in England appear to be the names of rivers, many of which should certainly be interpreted as Brythonic in origin. In the areas of England in which Brythonic languages were not replaced until relatively late on (Cumbria, Cornwall), most place names are still essentially Brythonic in origin.

After the Roman conquest, many Roman place names appear, particularly associated with military settlements. Often, these were simply the latinisation of existing names; e.g. Verulamium for Verlamion (St. Albans); Derventio for Derwent (Malton). After the collapse of Roman Britain, few of these place names survived. Most Roman sites are known by later names; many are marked as Roman sites by the suffix chester/cester/caster (from the Latin castra = camp), but with no reference to the Roman name. The influence of Latinon British place names is thus generally only slight.

In the so-called "Dark Ages", which followed the end of the Roman Empire, major changes occurred in most of the part of Britain now called England - Brythonic-speaking Cornwall was an exception, more akin to Welsh toponymy. The language of this region became Old English, also known as Anglo-Saxon, a Germanic language originating in north-west Germany and Denmark. Traditionally, this has been supposed to be due to a mass migration of Angles and Saxons into Britain, 'pushing back the Celts into Wales and Scotland'. However, this view is supported neither archaeologically or genetically, and it is possible that a small ruling class of Anglo-Saxon settlers culturally 'Germanised' the region of Britain over successive generations. Whatever the cause, due to this linguistic (if not cultural) replacement, most place names in modern England are discernibly Anglo-Saxon. A large fraction of these contain personal names, suggesting that they were named after the first Anglo-Saxon to dwell there. Personal names are less common in Brythonic place names.

Some English placenames commemorate non-Christian religions. Many of them refer to the old Germanic religion: see List of non-Christian religious placenames in Britain.

A few centuries after, in the period c. 850-1050 AD, the north and east of England and the islands and coasts of Scotland were settled by Norwegian and Danish 'Vikings'. Many place names in these areas are thus of Old Norse origin. Since Old Norse had many similarities to Anglo-Saxon, there are also many hybrid Saxon/Norse place names in the so-called 'Danelaw' of England. Again, many of the Viking place-names contain personal names, suggesting they are named for the local Norse/Danish lord or chieftain.

After the Norman invasion of England in 1066 AD, some Norman French influences can be detected in place names, notably the simplification of ch to c in Cerne and -cester, and the addition of names of feudal lords as in Stoke Mandeville. However, extension of the Norman system into the lowlands of Scotland resulted in the development of Scots as the spoken language, which was based on the Northumbrian dialect of Old English. Non-Celtic place names are therefore common in the southern part of Scotland, for instance Edinburgh.

Place names in Britain have remained relatively stable since the early Norman period, breaking down and 'weathering' to modern forms, but without further dramatic changes. At most, some place names have continued to accrue pre- or suffixes, such as 'Little'; or distinguishing features, such as a local river name.

Chapter II. Toponyms and etnonyms in the vocabulary of Ukrainian

The most convincing examples of Bulgarian origin of place names are those that can be associated with the geographical terrain features. For example, the town of Khyriv in Stary Sambir district of Lviv Region is located in an area rich in pine forests. Since the Chuvash xyr means "pine-tree ", the origin of the name from this word is probable. When examples could be found enough, the presence of the ancestors of the Bulgars in Western Ukraine should not have any doubt.

Sometimes the connection of a name with peculiarities of a village is compelling. The village Havarechchyna not far from the town of Zolochiv in Lviv Region is a known for black pottery, which is manufactured according to the old original technology of firing clay. The name of the village just points out to the craft spread here - Chuv kãvar "embers" and ìççyni "a worker" united in kavarìççyni would mean "a worker with hot coals", that is "a potter". A common surname Bakusevich in this village may also have Bulgar origin, since an old man's name Pakkuç was used by Chuvash. Obviously the name of the village Kobylechchina, located in the south-east of Zolochiv also contains the same word as in Gavarechchina. For the first part may be suitable Chuv. hãpala "to burn" which in meaning and even phonetically stands close to the Chuv. kãvar. Then, the pottery was existed in this village too.

The name of the rocky ridge Tovtry in western Ukraine could be etymologized by Chuvash tu "mountain" and tãrã "top". As the name of the mountain in many other Turkic languages sounds as tau, the primary name of the ridge could be Tautãrã. The mountain range on the border of Slovakia and Poland Tatry had the same protoform too. Tovtry stretch from Zolochiv in the Lviv Region to northern Moldavia and appear as separate limestone ledges and ridges that protrude above the surrounding expressive, mostly fairly level terrain, ie translation as "mountain peaks" fits very well. On the contrary, the name for the village Voronyaki and special for the part of the ledge Holohory on the western outskirts of Podol Upland can be translated as "smooth, flat place" in accordance with Chuv vyrãn "place" and yak "smooth". Such explanation of the name suited for this area and is semantically close to name Holohory (Ukr. "naked mountains").

L. Krushelnic'ka distinguishes Cherepin-Lahodiv group in archaeological relics of Hallstatt period in north-eastern Carpathian region which is corresponded to Early-Scythian time. Many relics of this group are concentrated in a strip of land extending from the village of Cherepin in the Peremishljany district of L'viv Region, through Zvenyhorod and Lahodiv eastward along Holohory to the village of Makropil' in Brody district. Many place names on this territory can be explained by means of the Chuvash language. Besides mentioned above Voronyaky we can find the villageYaktoriv here, which name is translated as “level-mountain” (Chuv. yak "smooth". and tara “top"). There is southeast of the village of Zvenyhorod a mountain called Kamula, which at 471 meters above sea level is the highest point of Ukraine outside of the mountains of Carpathian and Crimea. Chuv. kamar èul “stone clump" (èul "stone") is a good match for the name of this mountain. Kamãr also well suited because different languages have similar words with similar meaning (Lat cumulus, Lith. gumulus "heap", Alb. gamule "pile of earth, " Bash. kömrö "hump"). The name of the fast riverPoltva flowing through the northern parts of Holohory also has Bulgarish origin (Chuv. paltla, “fast").

Since the toponyms that we have found in this small part of the Cherepin-Lahodiv group of monuments presumably originate from Scythian-Bulgarish names inspired by nearby natural formations, we have a basis for trying to etymologize other toponyms with unclear origins in the area via Chuvash. On the left bank of the Poltva is a village with the strange name Kutkir. Perhaps drawing from Chuv. kut, “a trunk, ” and kìr, “strong, ” this toponym may be understood to mean “strong trunk.” A cluster of settlements with original names is located several kilometers south of Lahodiv. Some of them may be deciphered by way of Chuvash: Korosno - Chuv. karas, “poor;” Peremyšlany - Chuv. pìrìm, “skein, hank;” eºìl, “green;”Kimyr - Chuv. kìmìr, “heap, great lot”; Chupernosiv - Chuv. çãpar, “motley, ” masa, “appearance;” Ushkovychi - Chuv. vyºkal, “similar.” A few more examples of Scythian-Bulgarish toponyms in L'viv Region follow:

The town of Khodoriv and the village of Khodorkivci south of Bibrka - Chuv. xatãr, “alive, cheerful” (the Scythians-Bulgars borrowed this word from Germanic languages: O.Eng. hador, O.U.G. heitar, “other”);

The village of (v.) Citula, west of Zhovkva - Chuv. çi, “to eat, ” tulã, “wheat”;

v. Chyshky to the south-east of Lviv, v. Chyzhky on the north of Staro-Sambir district - Chuv chyshkã “a fist”.

v. Tetel'kivci near Brody - Chuv. tetel, “fishing network”;

v. Turady, west of Žydaèiv - Chuv. turat, “branch, brushwood”;

v. Veryn, south of Mykolajiv, and the village of Veryny near Žovkva - Chuv. vìrene, “maple”.

Further to the east of the Lviv Region, the amount of the place names of Bulgarish origin. This chain extends from Sokal in the north of Lviv region above Radekhiv to Radivyliv, then turns east and runs south of Kremenets, Shumsk and Iziaslav to Lubar, then turns south-east, goes above Chmilnyk through Kalynivka, and there is not a chain, but a whole band of names goes in the direction to the Dnieper. However, dealing with the Bulgar toponymy continues, which is often acknowledged as the logical-semantic relationship of parts of words, and the cases of almost complete phonetic identity. Compare:

v. Gelmjaziv near Zolotonosha - Chuv. kìlmìç, “a beggar”

v. Zhurzhinci, north of Zvenyhorodka in Cherkasy Region, and the village of Zhurzhevychi, north of Olevs'k in Zhytomyr Region - Chuv.ºarºa, “smell”;

v. Kolontajiv, southwest of Krasnokuc'k in Kharkiv Region - Chuv. xullen, “quiet, ” thuj, “wedding;”

v. Kacmaziv, southwest of Šarhorod in Vinnycja Region - Chuv. kuç, “eye”, masa, “appearance”;

v. Kretivci (from Kretel), southeast of Zbarazh; - Chuv. kìret, “open”, tìl, “place” (the village is located on a level, open spot);

v. Kudashevo, south of Chyhyryn in Cherkasy Region - Chuv. kut, “buttocks, ” aº, “meat”;

v. Kuyanivka in the southern surburbs of Bilopillja - Chuv. kuyan, “a hare”;

v. Ozdiv (from Oztel), southwest of Luc'k - Chuv. uçã, “open, ” tìl, “place” (the village is located on a level spot);

v. Potutory in Berezhany district and the village of Potutoriv, east of Kremenec' in Ternopil' Region - Chuv. pãv, “to press, squeeze, ”tutãr, “shawl”;

v. Takhtaulove near Poltava - Chuv. tãxtaval, “to interrupt”;

v. Temyrivci, west of Halych - Chuv. timìr, “iron”;

v. Tymar, south of Hajsin - Chuv. tymar, “a root”;

v. Urman' in Berezhany district, Ternopil' Region - Chuv. vãrman, “forest" (the village is surrounded by forests);

v. Khalayidove, south-west of Monastyryšèe in Cherkasy Region - Chuv. xãla, “red”, jyt, “a dog”;

v. Cepcevychi, west of Sarny in Rivno Region - Chuv. çip, “thread, ” çìvì, “seam”;

v. Shuparka in Borshchiv district in Ternopil' Region - Chuv. çãpãrka, “a whip”;

v.v. Yaltushkiv near Bar and near Zhmerinka in Vinnycja Region - Chuv. yultaº, “a comrade”.

West of Cherkasy, a bog separates the Irdyn' and Irdyn'ka, rivers that flow into the Dnieper below and above the city respectively. Looking at a map, one may observe that these two rivers were once part of a channel that separated from the Dnieper, leaving behind the island on which the city of Cherkasy was built. The Chuvash verb irtìn, “to be separated, " expresses that situation rather well. The name of the city may be of Bulgarish origin as well. There are no fewer than ten settlements ending with -kassã, “village, street, ” to be found in the Chuvash Republic in Central Russia (Egorov 1993, 38). Additionally, there is substantial variety in the first part of the word in the Chuvash language. There are also villages of Cherkasy in Lviv Region and Lublin Voivodship in eastern Poland.

There are very few toponyms of Bulgarish origin in Kirovohrad Region, but two of them may be etymologized via Chuvash. Though little remains of the woods around the village of Kamburliyivka, located in the southern suburbs of Pavlysh, they were once rich in mushrooms, as Chuv.kãmpa, “mushroom" and purlã, “rich" allow us to assume. If the names of the village Kandaurovo and the river Kandaurovs'ki Vody derive from Chuv. kãn, “potash, ” and tãvar, “salt, " this observation pulls along a whole chain of considerations. It is assumed that the Ancient Bulgars could obtain salt in this area from evaporation, selling it to their neighbors (Stetsyuk V., 1998, 57). But here we are not concerned about everyday table salt, as it would require no particular significance of the word tãvar. There is reason to doubt that people knew how to extract soda from wood ashes by then. Thus the name of the river may arise from the name of some other salt from which was dissolved in the water. Herodotus wrote about a river with bitter water in Scythia. Describing the river Hypanis, he notes that its water is fresh at the source, but becomes very bitter at a distance of four days from the sea. He explains thusly:

The third river is the Hypanis, which starts from Scythia and flows from a great lake round which feed white wild horses; and this lake is rightly called “Mother of Hypanis.” From this then the river Hypanis takes its rise and for a distance of five days' sail it flows shallow and with sweet water still; but from this point on towards the sea for four days' sail it is very bitter, for there flows into it the water of a bitter spring, which is so exceedingly bitter that, small as it is, it changes the water of the Hypanis by mingling with it, though that is a river to which few are equal in greatness. This spring is on the border between the lands of the agricultural Scythians and of the Alazonians, and the name of the spring and of the place from which it flows is in Scythian Exampaios, and in the Hellenic tongue `The Sacred Ways.' (Herodotus, IV, 52, translated by G.C. Macaulay).

Herodotus's Hypanis is commonly corresponded to the Southern Buh river. Since the Kandaurovs'ki Vody flow into the Inhul, the Ancient Greek historian probably had another bitter river in mind. This may not be so important, however: deposits of potassium chloride (a source of potash) can be found in this locality, and so bitter water may flow through many of its rivers. In particular, B. Ribakov attributes a bitter taste to the water of the Black Tashlik, which flows into the Siniukha (Ribakov B.A., 1979, 36). More important for our purposes is the Bulgarish origin of the river name Kandaurovs'ki Vody, a real oddity for this area.

Having settled the catchment of the Vorskla, Scythian- Bulgars began moving to the steppe part of the Left-Bank Ukraine and on the evidence of ancient historians most of their settlements was just here. However, permanent population didn't stay not in many places due to migration of diverse tribes which lasted at least millennium. Accordingly, the place names of those times could not be numerous, but some of modern-day names can be attributed to the Scythian period, although exactly to say what of them impossible. Those which that can be decrypted by means of the Chuvash language, can occur from the time of the Khazar Khanate when Bulgars settled the same place as their ancestors sid. Such settlements may be the following:

Aydar, Baksharivka, Bakhmut, Bunakova, Burluk, Gaidar, Kartamysh, Kuzemivka, Kurul'ka, Monachinivka, Toshkivka, Chuguyiv, Shabarivka, Shatovka, Jampil.

The list of the place names of the Bulgarish origin while further research is complemented and corrected, what requires a permanent correcting illustrative maps and it's pretty hard work which also harm the quality of cards.

The list of references

1. P. H. Reany. The Origin of English Placenames (1960).

2. G.B. Adams. Placenames from pre-Celtic languages in Ireland and Britain, 4 ïåðåèçä. (1980)

3. R Coates. Toponymic Topics - Essays on the early toponymy of the British Isles.

4. E.McDonald and J. Creswell. The Guiness Book of British Place Names (1993).

5. C. C. Smith, The survival of British Toponomy, 4 ïåðåèçä. (1980).

Ðàçìåùåíî íà Allbest.ru