The Urban Toponymic Space: “Cultural Layers” in Lexicographic Perspective

Abstract

The paper addresses the problem of linguocultural description of urban toponymy in different types of dictionaries, by proposing a new conceptual framework that accounts for their functional specificity. The author’s broad experience in lexicography suggests that in a dictionary of official urban toponymy representing a complex linguistic and cultural structure of the urban space requires each article to include not only cultural and historical commentary but also a special zone dedicated to unofficial (nominative and derivative) variants of the name which exist in colloquial speech and youth slang. It should also provide extensive source material on how these toponyms are used in everyday speech. On the other hand, in a dictionary of regional slang, the subcultural component of informal place names and the logic behind the slang nomination can receive a more comprehensive interpretation against the official toponymicon, as it may help to identify the specific nature of motivations in regionalisms or their compliance with the all-Russian fund of toponymic naming patterns. The informal urbanonyms used nation-wide, with an indication of their regional variations, can be included in generalpurpose slang dictionaries — a particular example of such dictionary entry is provided. Using these lexicographic strategies would allow compilers of different types of dictionaries to build a complex description of the stylistic and historical layers of the urban toponymicon, its regional and all-Russian components, as well as to give a full picture of the urban toponymic space as a multidimensional though unified cultural text.

Keywords

• Russian language
• onomastics
• urbanonymy
• official urban toponymy
• subcultural meaning of informal urbanonyms
• onomastic lexicography
• toponymic dictionary
• linguocultural commentary
• youth slang