TY - JOUR
T1 - Then and Now
T2 - A Comparative Historical Toponomastics Analysis of Station Names in 2 of Singapore’s Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Lines
AU - LIM, Shaun Tyan Gin
AU - PERONO CACCIAFOCO, Francesco
N1 - LIM, Shaun Tyan Gin, and Francesco PERONO CACCIAFOCO. (2020). Then and Now: A Comparative Historical Toponomastics Analysis of Station Names in 2 of Singapore’s Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Lines. Urban Science, 4(3), 37 (Special Issue "Urban Place Names: Political, Economic, and Cultural Dimensions"): 1-20
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 by the authors.
PY - 2020/8/17
Y1 - 2020/8/17
N2 - Public transport is integral to the development of cities. It promotes economic development, mitigates environmental degradation, and fosters a sense of social cohesion. Notwithstanding, one can understand a place’s culture, geography, history, languages, and sociopolitical structures by studying the naming practices in public transport, such as bus routes and train stations, among others. This article studies the naming conventions in Singapore’s Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system, which serves millions of commuters daily, and alludes to the importance of public transport in urban spaces. The paper analyses MRT station names, which can be regarded as toponyms, of the North South and Downtown lines according to two aspects: firstly, by conducting a linguistic analysis of the languages used in naming these MRT stations and, secondly, by applying toponymic classifications from current research in grouping the MRT stations themselves. Ultimately, the study compares the naming practices of Singapore’s oldest and second newest MRT lines using a sociolinguistic and historical toponomastics mixed methods approach, studying the MRT station names based on social categories as well as using historical sources to account for the linguistic and historical meaning of these toponyms. This work is aimed at providing scholars and a general audience with a better understanding of Singapore’s language, culture, and society through the analysis of the naming practices of the MRT station names, unique toponyms in the urban transport of the Lion City.
AB - Public transport is integral to the development of cities. It promotes economic development, mitigates environmental degradation, and fosters a sense of social cohesion. Notwithstanding, one can understand a place’s culture, geography, history, languages, and sociopolitical structures by studying the naming practices in public transport, such as bus routes and train stations, among others. This article studies the naming conventions in Singapore’s Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system, which serves millions of commuters daily, and alludes to the importance of public transport in urban spaces. The paper analyses MRT station names, which can be regarded as toponyms, of the North South and Downtown lines according to two aspects: firstly, by conducting a linguistic analysis of the languages used in naming these MRT stations and, secondly, by applying toponymic classifications from current research in grouping the MRT stations themselves. Ultimately, the study compares the naming practices of Singapore’s oldest and second newest MRT lines using a sociolinguistic and historical toponomastics mixed methods approach, studying the MRT station names based on social categories as well as using historical sources to account for the linguistic and historical meaning of these toponyms. This work is aimed at providing scholars and a general audience with a better understanding of Singapore’s language, culture, and society through the analysis of the naming practices of the MRT station names, unique toponyms in the urban transport of the Lion City.
KW - Historical Toponomastics
KW - Public Transport
KW - Singapore
KW - Sociolinguistics
KW - Toponymy
KW - Urban Studies
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85128234133&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/2413-8851/4/3/37
U2 - 10.3390/urbansci4030037
DO - 10.3390/urbansci4030037
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85128234133
SN - 2413-8851
VL - 4
SP - 1
EP - 20
JO - Urban Science
JF - Urban Science
IS - 3
M1 - 37
ER -