Preschool children’s name model

Complex place name competence survey among school-age children

Abstract

Preschool children’s name model. Complex place name competence survey among school-age children

Onomastic research typically focuses on the place-name recognition of adult name users. Thus, little research has focused on the place name vocabulary and naming competences of children. This paper presents the results of a survey using a complex methodology to characterise children’s place-name knowledge in a comprehensive way. Comprehensive interviews were conducted with ten children aged 6–7 years, as part of which children’s place-name knowledge, place-name competence and mental maps were assessed. The results show that children’s place-name knowledge is much narrower and spatially more limited than adults’, essentially covering only the inner area of their own municipality. They also know the macrotoponyms of other places, but the conceptual representations of these names are rather schematic. Children’s travel descriptions and mental maps are based on an egocentric perspective. The results show that the methodology can be applied successfully and provides a comprehensive picture of children’s spatial knowledge and place perception.