A középkori várnevek keletkezéstörténeti vizsgálata

Absztrakt

Examining the formation of medieval names for castles

The paper discusses the characteristic features of the formation of medieval names for castles, drawn from a systematic linguistic analysis of these based on István Hoffmann’s multi-criteria typology of names (1993, 1999). A descriptive analysis explores name structures. An analysis of the history of name formation enumerates the ways in which name forms are constituted or changed. The paper focuses on the latter aspect, thus observes the linguistic rules governing the formation of new names and their insertion into the existing name stock. The analysis clarifies that almost two-thirds of the medieval names for castles were created by way of semantic name formation (i.e. an existing lexeme was given a new, toponymic meaning), influenced especially by metonymy. Fewer names were established by syntactic construction (i.e. by attaching two name constituents, 17%); name adaptation (i.e. borrowing, 14%); structural change (i.e. modification of an existing name form, 4%); and morphematic construction (i.e. derivation, 2%). The frequency of these types of name formation also changed over time.