NAMN OG NEMNE

Ortnamnssamlingar som digital forskningsinfrastruktur: vad ska humanisten med digitalt skapade historiska namnmaterial till?

2023-01-24T13:09:11+00:00

The article examines place-name archives and broader place-name collections of various kinds as research infrastructures in the digital age. The main goal is to showcase the opportunities digitization offers to create born-digital data and metadata that open up new research questions and possibilities to conduct interdisciplinary humanistic research based on name materials. At the same time, the article does not turn a blind eye to the problems inherent in the digitization of cultural heritage. Embarking on the ongoing discussions on information and knowledge organisation in digital humanities, the article demonstrates the simplifications name materials usually undergo in research infrastructures because of the currently prevalent digital gazetteer model firmly rooted in the traditional database mindset. It is concluded that the dialogue between the analogue, the physical, and the digital is needed to reform current digitization “musts” and create digital spatial research infrastructures that can function as future interdisciplinary hubs for name-based research.

Språkspor i byen. Formidling av språk og stad som immateriell kulturarv

2023-01-24T13:11:25+00:00

This article presents the project Language Traces in the City, developed at the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences (HVL) in 2021. The project aims to increase interest in and knowledge of language as intangible cultural heritage. To do this, students develop digital language routes in the cityscape. Central theoretical frameworks in this project are onomastics and sociolinguistics, and the posts disseminate knowledge on themes such as history of language, language variation, multilingualism, and language in relation to identity and power. We argue that inviting students to curate knowledge about language in the cityscape can offer creative and new perspectives on place names and the linguistic landscape.

A hill of angels and fairies: Sìthean Mòr, Iona and the dynamics of Scottish onomastics

2023-01-24T13:15:26+00:00

This article investigates the place-names of the island of Iona in Scotland, using it as a case-study to consider broader issues relating to theoretical and practical approaches to Scottish onomastics and name-studies more generally. The multilingual environment of Scotland creates unique challenges when working towards a process of standardisation and comprehensive name-analysis. When researching the place-names of Iona, which was historically Gaelic-speaking, it is necessary to carefully balance the interface between Gaelic and English and to examine potential tensions between the two languages in a toponymic context. Many of the island’s place-names are not recorded on published maps, creating a need to carefully analyse how they have been used and preserved in different contexts. Furthermore, this requires a consideration of authority in naming processes by asking who has the right to create and preserve place-names. The discussion will address contested namescapes in a multilingual environment by examining two place-names on Iona (Sìthean Mòr and Angel Hill which both refer to the same feature). In doing so we can elucidate the role of place-names as ideologically charged markers of cultural heritage.

Stjørdalen, Stjørna og Skjørin – med nokre metodevurderingar

2023-01-24T13:18:13+00:00

In this article, I will go through previous interpretations of place-names based on Old Norse stjór- and suggest a new interpretation. Most scholars have been uncertain regarding these names. On the basis of Rygh and Kjær’s reading, Hoel has explained that Skjør in Eidsberg derives from stjór- in the sense of ‘staff’ and he sees the name as a reference to the elongated ridge on which the farm is located. Bjorvand expands this explanation to include Stjørdalen, Stjørna and Skjørin in Trøndelag, believing these names to refer to straight rivers or fjords. My objection is that there is no evidence that ‘staff, pole’ was a possible meaning of Norse stjór-, nor does the terrain in the respective places fit well with such a meaning. To these names I add the part of Lake Øyangsvatnet called Stjørna, 20 km from the fjord of Stjørna, and my point is that four out of these five stjór-names are linked to T-shaped bodies of water. This means that they resemble the shape of early, primitive anchors for which the Old Norse word is stjóri. Stjór-names may refer to this resemblance. My interpretation of Stjørna relies on the reconstructed sea-levels of the Early Iron Age. At the end of the article, I take a closer look at the potential of reconstructing past landscapes in connection with interpreting place-names, and my reading of Lake Styran in Eastern Sweden is based on a reconstructed water level.

Samisk stedsnavnarkiv i Norge. På tide å dokumentere samisk navnetradisjon for fremtidige generasjoner

2023-01-24T13:22:59+00:00

The article discusses the archive history of Sami place names in Norway and gives examples of the collecting and cataloguing of Sami place names. Possible future plans for a Sami name archive in Norway are also discussed. As a consequence of a strict policy of assimilation, the so-called Norwegianization policy, the collecting and cataloguing of Sami place names was not defined as a national responsibility when Norway’s Place Name Archive was established in the 1920s. This has remained the case right up to the present day.

The article shows the need for the establishment of a Sami place name archive in Norway. The question is whether it would be relevant to build up a Sami department as part of the language collections at the University Library in Bergen, or rather, whether it is time for a Sami name archive in collaboration with existing Sami institutions.

Stadnamnarkivet hundre år

2023-01-24T13:25:20+00:00

The Norwegian Place Name Archive (Norsk stadnamnarkiv) was founded in 1921. The aim of the archive was to register place names in written sources and gather the pronunciation of names on maps, in addition to the full documentation of place names in certain areas. In addition to documentation, research and publication have been important parts of the archive’s work. Teaching and courses in collection of place names were also conducted. Starting in the 1970s, the archive has organized or contributed to onomastic conferences, nationally and internationally. The place name archive was located first in Oslo, from 1930–42 mainly in Bergen, then in Oslo again. The government was responsible for the archive starting in 1939, and it became a separate institute at the University of Oslo in 1978. In 2016 the onomastic collections were transferred to the University of Bergen, where they became part of the Norwegian Language Collections at Bergen University Library.

Stadnamnnormering i Noreg – prinsipp, aktørar, tendensar

2023-01-24T13:27:06+00:00

This article discusses how the spelling of place-names in Norway has been standardised from the end of the nineteenth century until today. The history of standardisation is divided into four phases, and certain principles that define the different phases are identified, as well as central actors in the standardisation process. Drawing on Vikør (2007), the author compares the standardisation of place-names with the standardisation of written language in general, showing that even though the spelling of place-names is part of written language planning, there are also differences between the two. Finally, the article discusses the management of place-names as cultural heritage.

Namn på -sete i Indre Sogn. Nokre morfologiske og semantiske vurderingar

2023-01-24T13:28:54+00:00

This article discusses toponyms ending in -sete from Indre Sogn in Norway. Scholars disagree about -sete’s morphology (dative or nominative), denotation (natural or man-made features) and reference (hamlets, fields, or places connected to animal husbandry). Data from Indre Sogn suggests shielings as main reference, and epenthesis and apocope of ON setr/sætr as morphological development, thus matching earlier data from Hardanger (Helleland 1989). Furthermore, the article highlights two new aspects of such names:

-sete marks names typically located in clusters on the outskirts of villages. This explains their distribution better than elevation above sea level, as the clusters contrast name loss by maintaining close functional interaction between sete-names that otherwise are completely unproductive nowadays, and hence would disappear.

-sete denotates man-made features and means broadly ‘area utilised for one specific purpose’. Further semantic specification follows a spectrum between names deriving from ON setr/sætr and similar names from ON sæti, likely due to historical convergence of these morphosyntactic similar lexemes.

Divergens og konvergens i standardisering af danske stednavne – fra 1910 til nutiden

2023-01-24T13:33:10+00:00

The standardization of place-names stems from idealistic notions that one can establish unambiguously correct written forms. However, the correct spelling of a place-name cannot always be agreed upon by public administration, language users in the field, or linguists among themselves. Contemporary spelling principles are in practice a challenge to maintain consistently in standardized place-names. The Danish Place Name Committee learned this early on. The interests of the citizens, the interests of the politicians, and internal strife in the Place Name Committee have had an influence on place-name standardization in Denmark, where ideals deviated right from the very first attempts of standardization. Many specific challenges are and have been the same throughout the over 100 years that the Place Name Committee has existed. In this article, examples of spelling rules, selected cases, and issues related to standardization of Danish place-names are discussed from the perspective of the present chair of the Danish Place Name Committee.

Språkrådets tilskuddsordning for å ta vare på lokale navn – bakgrunn for tiltaket og status etter seks år

2023-01-24T13:35:27+00:00

In Norway, onomastic fieldwork and the study of place names have a tradition back to the 19th c. In 20th c. numerous field work campaigns were undertaken and extensive collections were created. The last large project ended almost 40 years ago. This fact and the Norwegian ratification of the UNESCO charter for the protection of intangible cultural heritage in 2007, prompted the Norwegian Cultural Ministry to launch a funding scheme for the collection of local place names. The paper discusses the context for this decision. A digital registration system was ready in 2016 and in the same year, the first projects were funded. In the paper, the registered data are analysed and the experiences with the system are discussed. The database currently contains 126 000 detailed registrations. This is a substantial number, and the project can be considered a success. On the other hand, the number could have been higher. A reason for this is the lack of a good and user-friendly search interface and a nationwide organization taking care of datasets from onomastic fieldwork.

Lokalsamhällets namn i centralmaktens händer. Namnhantering år 1569 och år 1700 från Flackarps horisont

2023-01-24T13:40:12+00:00

Two cases of field name collection, in 1569 and 1700, in Flackarp, Scania, are described in this paper. The names of the different epochs and contexts are explained and compared to each other, and thoughts on how they relate to central and local language are presented. Also, the names are put into their landscape settings, enabling analysis of settlement history. The study confirms earlier research showing that there is a correspondence between the two sources studied, thus demonstrating a continuance and a considerable age of field names in Southern Scania (Wedmark 1959–1960, Riddersporre 1995, Svensson 2015). However, in the case of Flackarp there are also obvious differences between the field names attested in 1569 and 1700. This discrepancy is described from a linguistic as well as a settlement history perspective. As stated in similar research, the drawers of the sources show influence from central Swedish respectively Danish language norm as well as individual independence (Pamp 1965, Hallberg 1996). Finally, a new interpretation of local history, including the existence of a medieval manor, is discussed, as well as a special case of linguistic correction.

Vegen til stadnamnet – eit e-læringskurs om stadnamnlova og stadnamnarbeid i kommunane

2023-01-24T13:42:03+00:00

In 2020–21, the Language Council of Norway produced an e-learning course for official work with geographical names. The course deals with topics such as The Place Name Act, how to coin correct and functional address names, and to how to work through place name cases. The course makes use of animated films, illustrations and practical exercises as effects and devices to reach the learning objectives. It consists of four modules:

1. Introduction. Motivates the learners by stating the value of geographical names as cultural heritage.

2. An overview of The Place Name Act and its regulations.

3. An introduction to the rules regulating the standardization of geographical names. Demonstrates how to coin well-formed address names (such as street names) by focusing on general spelling and word formation rules that operate in Norwegian.

4. A detailed overview of the procedure in cases concerning geographical names. The 4th module also explains the roles of the municipalities, the Language Council and the Mapping Authorities.

The course is openly available for everyone online.

Ny redaksjon i "Namn og nemne"

2023-01-24T13:06:08+00:00

Frå og med nummer 39 er Ivar Berg og Tor Erik Jenstad redaktørar.