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Loco ubi dicitur... “La toponomastica di Vallebona e dintorni” : Un territorio di confine tra Liguria e Provenza

Guglielmi, Riccardo LU (2014) In Études Romanes de Lund 91.
Abstract
As a special part of our cultural heritage, toponyms have been handed down orally from generation to generation for centuries or more at the place where they were coined, recalling events, activities and knowledge. Especially where written documentation is relatively young, place names offer a way to reach further back into the past. This is particularly true of many dialectal cultures, in which oral transmission has been the principal method of passing down knowledge. In this respect, toponyms are vital as they tell us something about the place to which they refer, its inhabitants and how they interacted with the land.

Before the “modern” era, assigning a name to a place not only had the function of identifying a location to... (More)
As a special part of our cultural heritage, toponyms have been handed down orally from generation to generation for centuries or more at the place where they were coined, recalling events, activities and knowledge. Especially where written documentation is relatively young, place names offer a way to reach further back into the past. This is particularly true of many dialectal cultures, in which oral transmission has been the principal method of passing down knowledge. In this respect, toponyms are vital as they tell us something about the place to which they refer, its inhabitants and how they interacted with the land.

Before the “modern” era, assigning a name to a place not only had the function of identifying a location to facilitate orientation, but often included all sorts of information that could, one way or another, help whoever came across it. Thus, a toponym could point to its geographical character, specifying for example its feature category (mountains, passes, routes, lakes, rivers, forests, dwellings, farmland, hunting grounds, etc.), or point out possible dangers associated with the location (boundary markers, heights, precipices, streams etc.), or provide information on historical or religious facts (battles, skirmishes, festivities, etc.). Hence the study of place names entails not only gathering information on the history and language (and, implicitly, culture) of a place, but also understanding the unbroken interplay between humans and nature through different periods and under different conditions.

This study – conducted over the course of eight years – gathers, classifies and analyses the toponyms of Vallebona, a small village in western Liguria, and of its surroundings. The toponyms were collected through several sources, ranging from historical and current maps to municipal documents, census listings, interviews with Vallebona residents and government officials all the way to fieldwork. The total amounts to 744, a number significantly higher than the one recorded in cadastral surveys and on official maps. These findings point to the utility of research of this kind, especially in view of the rapid disappearance of toponymic systems in most of rural Italy.

The aim of the study is threefold: First to ascertain the geographical distributions of the collected toponyms and, above all, to establish their meaning, typology, internal structure, lexical status and functions. Great attention is paid to the etymologization of the collected data, which is conducted by comparing data from different areas. The interpretation of the 744 toponyms gathered in Vallebona stems from the consideration of various elements – including origin, semantic motivation, morphosyntactic structure, ubication, social historic context and lexical units. The integral analysis of Vallebona’s toponyms considers the linguistic processes as well as the extra linguistic ones, which resulted in the usage of designated toponyms that name and encompass village topology.

Second, to disclose the major structural patterns used in the creation of the toponyms. In this part, special attention is given to the suffixes employed, analysing their semantic value, their functions, their productivity and their role as an aid for the memorization of the toponyms.

Third, to establish similarities and differences between the dialects spoken in Vallebona and elsewhere in Liguria – particularly from a phonetic and lexical point of view. Our hope is that this will lead to a more precise definition of the dialects spoken in the area.

The information derived from the research was used to produce a map showing the geographic distribution of all the place names collected. (Less)
Abstract (Swedish)
Popular Abstract in Swedish

Ortnamn utgör en särskild del av kulturarvet; under århundraden har de muntligen traderats från generation till generation på den plats där de skapats, där de minner om tidigare händelser, aktiviteter och kunskaper. I synnerhet på de håll skriftlig dokumentation är relativt sentida ger ortnamn en möjlighet att nå insikter om den mer avlägsna historien. Detta gäller särskilt dialektala kulturer, i vilka muntlig tradering varit den huvudsakliga metoden för att överföra kunskap. I detta avseende är ortnamn av avgörande betydelse eftersom de säger oss något om platsen de refererar till, dess invånare och hur dessa interagerade med landområdet.

Före ”modern” tid hade namngivning av en plats... (More)
Popular Abstract in Swedish

Ortnamn utgör en särskild del av kulturarvet; under århundraden har de muntligen traderats från generation till generation på den plats där de skapats, där de minner om tidigare händelser, aktiviteter och kunskaper. I synnerhet på de håll skriftlig dokumentation är relativt sentida ger ortnamn en möjlighet att nå insikter om den mer avlägsna historien. Detta gäller särskilt dialektala kulturer, i vilka muntlig tradering varit den huvudsakliga metoden för att överföra kunskap. I detta avseende är ortnamn av avgörande betydelse eftersom de säger oss något om platsen de refererar till, dess invånare och hur dessa interagerade med landområdet.

Före ”modern” tid hade namngivning av en plats inte endast syftet att identifiera den för att underlätta orientering, utan gav också all möjlig information som kunde vara till hjälp för den som kom att befinna sig där. Därför kunde ett ortnamn syfta på platsens geografiska särprägel och exempelvis specificera vilken kategori den tillhörde (berg, bergspass, vägar, sjöar, floder, skogar, bosättningar, åkrar, jaktmarker, etc.), eller ange möjliga faror förknippade med den (gränsmarkeringar, höjder, stup, forsar, etc.), alternativt ge information om historiska eller religiösa tilldragelser (fältslag, skärmytslingar, högtider, etc.). Därför innebär studiet av ortnamn inte bara att samla information rörande platsers historia och språk (och implicit deras kultur), utan också att förstå det obrutna samspelet mellan människor och natur under olika tidsperioder och skiftande förhållanden.

Denna undersökning – genomförd under åtta års tid – insamlar, klassificerar och analyserar ortnamn i den lilla byn Vallebona i västra Ligurien och dess omgivningar. Ortnamnen insamlades via flera källor: Från fältarbete till historiska och nutida kartor, kommunala dokument, folkbokföring samt intervjuer med boende i Vallebona och regeringstjänstemän. Det totala antalet är 744, ett tal avsevärt högre än vad som finns i fastighetsregistren och på officiella kartor. Detta resultat visar på nyttan av den här sortens forskning, särskilt med tanke på att toponymiska system snabbt håller på att försvinna på större delen av den italienska landsbygden.

Undersökningen har tre syften: För det första att fastställa de insamlade ortnamnens geografiska utbredning, samt framförallt slå fast deras innebörd, typologi, interna struktur, lexikala status och funktioner. Stor uppmärksamhet ägnas åt etymologiseringen av insamlade data, vilket genomförs med jämförelser mellan data från olika områden. Tolkningen av de 744 ortnamnen insamlade i Vallebona bygger bland annat på ursprung, semantisk motivering, morfosyntaktisk struktur, förekomst, socialhistorisk kontext och lexikala enheter. Den övergripande analysen av Vallebonas ortnamn beaktar både lingvistiska processer och utomlingvistiska faktorer, som t.ex. byns /traktens topologi.

Det andra syftet är att blottlägga de viktigaste av de strukturella mönster som använts i skapandet av ortnamnen. I denna del riktas särskild uppmärksamhet mot de suffix som används, vars semantiska värde, funktioner och produktivitet analyseras, liksom deras roll som hjälp för att memorera ortnamnen.

Det tredje syftet är att konstatera skillnader och likheter mellan de dialekter som talas i Vallebona och i resten av Ligurien, i synnerhet ur fonetisk och lexikalisk synvinkel. Min förhoppning är att detta kommer att leda till en exaktare definition av de dialekter som talas i området.

Den information som undersökningen resulterade i användes för att rita en karta över den geografiska distributionen av alla insamlade ortnamn. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
supervisor
opponent
  • Dr. Marrapodi, Giorgio, Universität des Saarlandes, Saarbrücken, Tyskland
organization
publishing date
type
Thesis
publication status
published
subject
keywords
onomastics, Italian, dialectology, Vallebona, proper names, Liguria, place name, toponymy, microtoponyms, cultural heritage, etymology, rural landscape, ethnography, language area, toponymy recording, place identity, toponymization, toponymic suffixes, diachronic and synchronic perspective, toponymic functions, toponymic competence, toponym constituent, modern and historical sources, historical-linguistic.
in
Études Romanes de Lund
volume
91
pages
654 pages
publisher
Centre for Languages and Literature, Lund University
defense location
Sal 207, Språk- och litteraturcentrum, Helgonabacken 12, Lund
defense date
2014-05-24 10:15:00
ISSN
0347-0822
ISBN
978-91-7473-999-2
language
Italian
LU publication?
yes
id
be4a18fa-313a-4875-831f-7ddfbb22bc32 (old id 4407039)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 14:18:15
date last changed
2019-05-21 14:04:42
@phdthesis{be4a18fa-313a-4875-831f-7ddfbb22bc32,
  abstract     = {{As a special part of our cultural heritage, toponyms have been handed down orally from generation to generation for centuries or more at the place where they were coined, recalling events, activities and knowledge. Especially where written documentation is relatively young, place names offer a way to reach further back into the past. This is particularly true of many dialectal cultures, in which oral transmission has been the principal method of passing down knowledge. In this respect, toponyms are vital as they tell us something about the place to which they refer, its inhabitants and how they interacted with the land. <br/><br>
 Before the “modern” era, assigning a name to a place not only had the function of identifying a location to facilitate orientation, but often included all sorts of information that could, one way or another, help whoever came across it. Thus, a toponym could point to its geographical character, specifying for example its feature category (mountains, passes, routes, lakes, rivers, forests, dwellings, farmland, hunting grounds, etc.), or point out possible dangers associated with the location (boundary markers, heights, precipices, streams etc.), or provide information on historical or religious facts (battles, skirmishes, festivities, etc.). Hence the study of place names entails not only gathering information on the history and language (and, implicitly, culture) of a place, but also understanding the unbroken interplay between humans and nature through different periods and under different conditions. <br/><br>
 This study – conducted over the course of eight years – gathers, classifies and analyses the toponyms of Vallebona, a small village in western Liguria, and of its surroundings. The toponyms were collected through several sources, ranging from historical and current maps to municipal documents, census listings, interviews with Vallebona residents and government officials all the way to fieldwork. The total amounts to 744, a number significantly higher than the one recorded in cadastral surveys and on official maps. These findings point to the utility of research of this kind, especially in view of the rapid disappearance of toponymic systems in most of rural Italy. <br/><br>
 The aim of the study is threefold: First to ascertain the geographical distributions of the collected toponyms and, above all, to establish their meaning, typology, internal structure, lexical status and functions. Great attention is paid to the etymologization of the collected data, which is conducted by comparing data from different areas. The interpretation of the 744 toponyms gathered in Vallebona stems from the consideration of various elements – including origin, semantic motivation, morphosyntactic structure, ubication, social historic context and lexical units. The integral analysis of Vallebona’s toponyms considers the linguistic processes as well as the extra linguistic ones, which resulted in the usage of designated toponyms that name and encompass village topology. <br/><br>
 Second, to disclose the major structural patterns used in the creation of the toponyms. In this part, special attention is given to the suffixes employed, analysing their semantic value, their functions, their productivity and their role as an aid for the memorization of the toponyms. <br/><br>
 Third, to establish similarities and differences between the dialects spoken in Vallebona and elsewhere in Liguria – particularly from a phonetic and lexical point of view. Our hope is that this will lead to a more precise definition of the dialects spoken in the area. <br/><br>
 The information derived from the research was used to produce a map showing the geographic distribution of all the place names collected.}},
  author       = {{Guglielmi, Riccardo}},
  isbn         = {{978-91-7473-999-2}},
  issn         = {{0347-0822}},
  keywords     = {{onomastics; Italian; dialectology; Vallebona; proper names; Liguria; place name; toponymy; microtoponyms; cultural heritage; etymology; rural landscape; ethnography; language area; toponymy recording; place identity; toponymization; toponymic suffixes; diachronic and synchronic perspective; toponymic functions; toponymic competence; toponym constituent; modern and historical sources; historical-linguistic.}},
  language     = {{ita}},
  publisher    = {{Centre for Languages and Literature, Lund University}},
  school       = {{Lund University}},
  series       = {{Études Romanes de Lund}},
  title        = {{Loco ubi dicitur... “La toponomastica di Vallebona e dintorni” : Un territorio di confine tra Liguria e Provenza}},
  volume       = {{91}},
  year         = {{2014}},
}