Delimitative function of place names in the linguistic landscape – as illustrated with examples from the cities of Prague and Ostrava (Czech Republic)

Abstract

The paper is focused on the spatial appearance of two place names in the public space in the background of the transonymization process; there are the Czech place names of Anděl ('Angel'; a busy crossroads, Prague) and Kuří rynek ('Chicken Market'; a small square, Ostrava). The paper attempts to provide answers to the following research questions: 1) Is there any mutual relationship between the places delimitation and the place names occurrence? 2) In which forms and for which objects are the namings used? 3) Do the areas delimited by the place names representation in the public space, and those mentally perceived by people living there overlap?

Keywords

• place names
• transonymization
• linguistic landscape
• delimititative function