Original scientific paper

The Toponymy and the Dialect of the Island of Rivanj

Nataša Šprljan orcid.org/0000-0002-4239-1498 ; Centar za jadranska onomastička istraživanja Sveučilište u Zadru

Abstract

This article consists of two parts: the description of the dialect of the island of
Rivanj and the analysis of its toponymy.
The description of the dialect of Rivanj is mostly based on phonology and
includes some morpho-syntactic features which are found in the toponymy of
Rivanj. The dialect of Rivanj belongs to the Middle-Chakavian Ikavian-Ekavian
dialectal group. Some of its main phonological and accentual features are: closed
pronunciation of the vowel aŻ (.), diphthongisation of the vowels eŻ (> ie) and oŻ
(> uo), neutralisation of the Chakavian acute accent and lengthening of the vowels
in stressed syllables.
The part related to toponomastics comprises a list of toponyms, a toponomastic
map, a semantic classification of toponyms and an index of toponyms.
In the context of semantic classification of toponyms, different motivations for
name choice, identified in the root form of the toponyms in the corpus of Rivanj,
are analysed. The most common motivations are: geomorphological features of
the referent, human activities, anthroponyms, animals and vegetation. Referential
toponyms whose toponymic form refers to other toponyms and toponyms whose
motivation is unknown or doubtful, are treated separately.
The results of this analysis confirm human activities (especially agriculture)
as the main motivational drive in the toponymy of Rivanj and a very dense distribution
of toponyms on the island’s hinterland. On the other hand, maritime activities
are hardly reflected in the toponymy of Rivanj. This confirms the orientation
of the inhabitants of Rivanj towards the land and agricultural activities, which
have been present since ancient times.

Keywords

toponymy; Rivanj; description of the dialect; semantic classification

Hrčak ID:

198706

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/198706

Publication date:

16.4.2018.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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