On homonymy and polysemy in place-names

Hough, C. (2014) On homonymy and polysemy in place-names. In: Tort i Donada, J. (ed.) Names in Daily Life: Proceedings of the International Congress of Onomastic Sciences XXIV. Series: Biblioteca tècnica de politíca lingüística onomàstica (11). Generalitat de Catalunya: Barcelona, pp. 26-33. ISBN 9788439391623 (doi: 10.2436/15.8040.01.5)

Abstract

The linguistic term homonymy is used within toponomastics to refer to place-names with the same modern form but different origins. Examples include Oxton, Newton and Maryburgh in various parts of the British Isles, and Cambridge in various parts of the world. However, homonymy is random, whereas place-name doublets are motivated in a variety of ways, some of them closer to the linguistic phenomenon of polysemy. The four examples cited above each illustrates a different process of development. Recent work within linguistics has focused on the interface between homonymy and polysemy, leading to new insights that may also be relevant to onomastics. The broad terms homonymy and polysemy are inadequate to express the range of relationships represented by place-name doublets.

• Item Type: Book Sections (Other)
• Additional Information: International Congress of Onomastic Sciences XXIV, Barcelona, Spain, 5-9 Sep 2011
• Status: Published
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Hough, Professor Carole
• Authors: Hough, C.
• College/School: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Critical Studies > English Language and Linguistics
• Publisher: Generalitat de Catalunya
• ISBN: 9788439391623