Methodological challenges associated with compiling the place names of multilingual settlements

Abstract

The methodological challenges associated with compiling the place names of multilingual settlements have become particularly pressing in recent years, particularly in light of the ongoing data compilation efforts related to the Hungarian National Toponym Registry Program, launched in 2022. Comprehensive documentation of place names in such multilingual areas – covering all relevant languages – requires methodological approaches that differ significantly from those applied in monolingual contexts. Key issues that require clarification include the linguistic situation of multilingual settlements both in Hungary and in neighbouring countries; the methodological procedures employed during previous compilations; the techniques of collecting spoken language data under the current program; the challenges of assessing the linguistic characteristics of place names; problems relating to their phonetic transcription; and the various methods of presenting place name data in multilingual contexts. This study addresses the theoretical foundations and methodological experiences associated with these questions, with particular attention to the regions and languages which link the participating researchers and their empirical work.