Abstract
Some geographic regions in the world are dense of diachronic linguistic overlapping, making the etymological analysis of their place names complex. In this paper, we selected two villages from the mountains of Northeastern Italy, Velo d'Astico and Arsiero, located in an Alpine border area, as elements of a case study inherent in the naming process connected with the interactions of the local inhabitants with their territory. The Alps, a quite wide area of Europe, attracted human groups with different genetic and linguistic origins at least since the Neolithic and, probably, already from the Mesolithic. After providing a set of possible etymological solutions for the two place names, we introduce an explanation linked to archaic religion and ancestral cults in the specific border area, a territory where the transition (at the level of movements of population and of naming processes) is both an opportunity and a source of instability.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 15-34 |
Number of pages | 19 |
Journal | Review of Historical Geography and Toponomastics |
Volume | 18 |
Issue number | 35-36 |
Publication status | Published - 10 Dec 2023 |
Keywords
- Toponymy
- Toponomastics
- Border Areas
- Etymology
- Historical Linguistics
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VICARI, S., & PERONO CACCIAFOCO, F. (2023). Border Areas in Ancient Europe: A Case Study from Northeastern Italy. Review of Historical Geography and Toponomastics, 18(35-36), 15-34. https://geografie.uvt.ro/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/02_Vicari_Cacciafoco.pdf