toponymy%20course%205.%20Fieldwork

1
toponymy course 5. Fieldwork

• Ferjan Ormeling and Tjeerd Tichelaar

2
Objectives (Orth 1990)

• Identify local landmarks refered to by people in
  their day-to-day conversation
• Record well-established names in the area
• Check whether names previously used in maps are
  still in use

3
requirements

• Names collected should still be up to date
• Names collected should be the official names on
  their correct orthography
• The objects the names refer to should be known
  (both their nature and their extent)

4
Preparation

• Here an image is needed with maps, area reports,
  directories, and aerial photographs
  (stereoscope)

5
Fieldwork instructions

• Collect names in current usage
• Ascertain their proper spelling (and meaning and
  pronunciation)
• Indicate location of named object

6
Current usage

• vs historical usage
• Established usage
• Legal usage
• Legislated usage
• Verbal usage
• Written usage

7
Preliminary study of the area

• Study existing maps and air photographs
• Study previous map editions
• Study location linguistic boundaries in the area
• Study issues
• What to do with local variation in dialects
• What to do if no names exist
• What to do if names change over time
• What to do with allonyms, homonyms?
• Render local pronunciation or standard
  orthography?
• Local generics or official generics
• How to deal with abbreviations or compound names
• Produce preliminary list of existing names
• Produce preliminary list of generic names
  specific to the area

8
Linguistic preparation

• Linguistic preparation
• Language map
• Glossary (after analysis of existing maps)
• Language boundaries shown in map (if available)
  should not be taken for granted.
• Linguistic assistance required!
• How to record pronounciation?
• Provisional orthographic rules
• Glossary should contain
• Generic terms
• Recurrent non-generic elements

9
Representation of pronounciation

• Potentially confusing phonemes those being
  similar to the toponymists ears should be
  identified.
• Choose a standard notation of pronunciation
• Concentrate on (combinations of) letters that
  represent more than one phoneme Enschede

10
Geographic preparationGeneric classification

• Define categories suitable to the landscape
• streams vs. canals
• swamps vs. marshes
• Avoid feature distinctions based on size
• creeks vs. rivers
• hills vs. mountains

11
Other issues to deal with

• Names publicizing brands or products should not
  be accepted
• Political interference only accept names for
  people already dead
• No names to be accepted that only consist of
  personal names
• Special scripts/ non-written languages

12
Preliminary study of the area

• Study the written instructions for surveyors
  meant to collect names
• What name categories should be collected
  definitions
• What sources have to be consulted
• Production of a final name model or name sheet,
  with correct font sizes indicated
• Instruction on the way the names have to be
  rendered on the name model
• Rules for hyphenating names, abbreviations
• Rules for including height data on maps

13
Preliminary logistics

• Prepare cartographic material, for name
  inventories (or preliminary name models), with
  question marks for issues to deal with
• Check administrative boundaries, for introduction
  to local officials (permits/cooperation)
• Prepare fill-in forms, recording equipment,
  recording computers/handhelds or field notebook
• Try to locate informants in advance

14
Logistic preparation

• Base maps equipment
• Administrative maps
• Scheme of administrative hierarchy
• Appointments announcements
• Preliminary visits to local authorities

15
In the field

• Timing of visits
• Involvement of local authorities in preparing and
  announcing the visits
• Attitude towards local population
• Motivation of respondents and officials
  (recognition of identity, explanation of goals,
  payment)
• Interviewing techniques based on knowledge of
  local codes of social interaction

16
Problems encountered

• Accessibility of local authorities
• Officials being young, ignorant, not native to
  the area
• Timid population
• Language problems
• Accessibility of respondents
• Outdated and/or incorrect maps

17
Special name inventory forms

• Sequence number
• Coordinates of the named object
• Type of named object
• Name as given on this map series (previous
  edition)
• Name according to previous map series
• Name according to Cadastral maps
• Name according to Inhabitants
• Name according to Public administration
• Attribute data
• Name as proposed by topographer
• Name as determined by names commission
• Remarks
• Sources

18
Prepare mentally for fieldwork

• Envisage problems to be anticipated
• Prepare for communication problems (translators)
• How to deal with alternative views of informants
  (different age groups, locations, gender)
• The objects the topographer and the informants
  want names for might not overlap (different
  spatial concepts/no existing names)
• Name alteration over time and space (local
  variation)

19
Finding good informants

• Local authorities that have lived long in the
  region and have information on recent
  developments
• Official persons (religious officials, mayors,
  public notaries, postmasters)
• Local population widely traveled over the area,
  shopkeepers

20
Special pitfalls

• The difference in perceived social status between
  interviewer and respondent may influence the
  language of the respondents
• Reference to the object must be clear (example
  in conversation, settlement and local
  administrative area names may be confused)
• How reliable is knowledge? No one is safe for
  popular etymology.

21
Graphic techniques for showing extent of named
objects
22
Showing the extent of named objects
23
Municipality names useless without municipal
boundaries
24
Boundaries of natural regions
25
Boundaries of oceans
26
(No Transcript)
27
provisieux
28
provisieux
29
provisieux
30
Names model France
31
Names model France
32
Etat justicatif
33
Names model Netherlands
34
Name form South Africa
35
South-Africasheet 2630BB,Lochiel, Suid-Afrika
150 000,1990
36
Names of hills added
Fieldwork 1994
37
Geographical name data sheet Northern Canada
38
Fieldwork entries

• Coordinates with GPS
• Type of named objects NATO classification
• Old maps
• Attribute data settlements number of
  inhabitants, administrative function roads
  classification type, number of lanes railways
  number of lanes rivers, canals capacity for
  shipping forests height, thickness, density
• Remarks date of name change, meaning, language

39
Usage

• How many informants know the name
• How many informants can locate it?
• Is it used by all types of people?
• Do people know of other names for the same object
• Which name version is used more?

40
Topographers bias
41
cartoon
42
exercise
43
International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)
International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)
44
Corrie