Original scientific paper

https://doi.org/10.32728/studpol/2025.14.01.03

A Phonological Analysis of Pula-Pola Toponyms in Their Adaptation From Italian Into Croatian

Paolo Trani ; Faculty of Humanities - Zagreb *
Sarah Zancovich ; Juraj Dobrila University of Pula *

* Corresponding author.

Abstract

The present-day toponyms of the City of Pula-Pola reflect the
centuries-old presence of a Romance linguistic substrate and the longstanding
cultural and linguistic contact between the Romance-speaking
urban population and the Slavic-speaking rural population. In this cultural
exchange, toponyms were more often transphonemized and adapted
to the phonological rules of the recipient language rather than directly
translated. Adaptations occurred in both directions: Croatian names
adjusted to Italian orthography (e.g., Cucie, Pecine) and Italian names
adapted to Croatian orthography (e.g., Kaštel, Valdebek). In the Pula area,
the latter type is more common. Owing to the centuries-long presence
of Venice and its linguistic and cultural influence, the region possesses a
rich stock of Romance toponyms that, through historical processes, were
integrated into the Croatian language system through complete, partial
or free transphonemization. This paper analyses a corpus of thirty-three
Pula toponyms that have undergone transphonemization, resulting in their
current bilingual forms.

Keywords

toponyms; Istro-Venetian; transphonemization; phonological analysis

Hrčak ID:

340345

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/340345

Publication date:

5.12.2025.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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