Plants and Place Names: A Case Study of Abui Toponymy

Shaun Tyan Gin LIM; Francesco PERONO CACCIAFOCO

Plants and Place Names: A Case Study of Abui Toponymy

Shaun Tyan Gin LIM
, Francesco PERONO CACCIAFOCO^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Department of Applied Linguistics

Nanyang Technological University

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

This paper investigates the influence of Abui plant names on Alor Island’s
toponyms.Abui is a Papuan language spoken in Alor Island (Alor-Pantar Archipelago, SouthEast Indonesia, Timor area). Although there are rich studies on the Abui culture and language, research on how botany, an important toponymic source, shapes toponymic patterns in Alor Island remains scant. Using Field Linguistics and Language Documentation methods, the authors and a local consultant have detailed the names of ten common Abui horticultural
andagricultural plants before matching them with toponyms in Alor Island to reconstruct their etymologies. Results show that toponyms in Alor Island derived from phytonyms are mostly transparent, named after plants in the area with the top toponymic sources being mea ‘mango’, wata ‘coconut’, and kanaai ‘canarium’. Oral stories are highly connected with the place naming process and are frequently used to explain how places received their names. This paper
would like to provide evidences and analyses as a starting point for further research on the links between Botany and Toponymy in Alor Island.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	121-142
Number of pages	21
Journal	Review of Historical Geography and Toponomastics
Volume	15
Issue number	29-30
Publication status	Published - 10 Dec 2020

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities
SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities
SDG 15 Life on Land

Keywords

Toponymy
Language Documentation
Botany
Abui
Toponomastics

Access to Document

https://geografie.uvt.ro/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/06_Lim_Cacciafoco.pdfLicence: CC BY

Cite this

@article{39a571b1d29644e596aedd9db1a0733e,

title = "Plants and Place Names: A Case Study of Abui Toponymy",

abstract = "This paper investigates the influence of Abui plant names on Alor Island{\textquoteright}s toponyms.Abui is a Papuan language spoken in Alor Island (Alor-Pantar Archipelago, SouthEast Indonesia, Timor area). Although there are rich studies on the Abui culture and language, research on how botany, an important toponymic source, shapes toponymic patterns in Alor Island remains scant. Using Field Linguistics and Language Documentation methods, the authors and a local consultant have detailed the names of ten common Abui horticultural andagricultural plants before matching them with toponyms in Alor Island to reconstruct their etymologies. Results show that toponyms in Alor Island derived from phytonyms are mostly transparent, named after plants in the area with the top toponymic sources being mea {\textquoteleft}mango{\textquoteright}, wata {\textquoteleft}coconut{\textquoteright}, and kanaai {\textquoteleft}canarium{\textquoteright}. Oral stories are highly connected with the place naming process and are frequently used to explain how places received their names. This paper would like to provide evidences and analyses as a starting point for further research on the links between Botany and Toponymy in Alor Island.",

keywords = "Toponymy, Language Documentation, Botany, Abui, Toponomastics",

author = "LIM, \{Shaun Tyan Gin\} and \{PERONO CACCIAFOCO\}, Francesco",

note = "LIM, Shaun Tyan Gin, and Francesco PERONO CACCIAFOCO. (2020). Plants and Place Names: A Case Study of Abui Toponymy. Review of Historical Geography and Toponomastics, XV, 29-30: 121-142",

year = "2020",

month = dec,

day = "10",

language = "English",

volume = "15",

pages = "121--142",

journal = "Review of Historical Geography and Toponomastics",

issn = "1842-8497",

number = "29-30",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Plants and Place Names

T2 - A Case Study of Abui Toponymy

AU - LIM, Shaun Tyan Gin

AU - PERONO CACCIAFOCO, Francesco

N1 - LIM, Shaun Tyan Gin, and Francesco PERONO CACCIAFOCO. (2020). Plants and Place Names: A Case Study of Abui Toponymy. Review of Historical Geography and Toponomastics, XV, 29-30: 121-142

PY - 2020/12/10

Y1 - 2020/12/10

N2 - This paper investigates the influence of Abui plant names on Alor Island’s toponyms.Abui is a Papuan language spoken in Alor Island (Alor-Pantar Archipelago, SouthEast Indonesia, Timor area). Although there are rich studies on the Abui culture and language, research on how botany, an important toponymic source, shapes toponymic patterns in Alor Island remains scant. Using Field Linguistics and Language Documentation methods, the authors and a local consultant have detailed the names of ten common Abui horticultural andagricultural plants before matching them with toponyms in Alor Island to reconstruct their etymologies. Results show that toponyms in Alor Island derived from phytonyms are mostly transparent, named after plants in the area with the top toponymic sources being mea ‘mango’, wata ‘coconut’, and kanaai ‘canarium’. Oral stories are highly connected with the place naming process and are frequently used to explain how places received their names. This paper would like to provide evidences and analyses as a starting point for further research on the links between Botany and Toponymy in Alor Island.

AB - This paper investigates the influence of Abui plant names on Alor Island’s toponyms.Abui is a Papuan language spoken in Alor Island (Alor-Pantar Archipelago, SouthEast Indonesia, Timor area). Although there are rich studies on the Abui culture and language, research on how botany, an important toponymic source, shapes toponymic patterns in Alor Island remains scant. Using Field Linguistics and Language Documentation methods, the authors and a local consultant have detailed the names of ten common Abui horticultural andagricultural plants before matching them with toponyms in Alor Island to reconstruct their etymologies. Results show that toponyms in Alor Island derived from phytonyms are mostly transparent, named after plants in the area with the top toponymic sources being mea ‘mango’, wata ‘coconut’, and kanaai ‘canarium’. Oral stories are highly connected with the place naming process and are frequently used to explain how places received their names. This paper would like to provide evidences and analyses as a starting point for further research on the links between Botany and Toponymy in Alor Island.

KW - Toponymy

KW - Language Documentation

KW - Botany

KW - Abui

KW - Toponomastics

UR - https://geografie.uvt.ro/?page_id=9538

M3 - Article

SN - 1842-8497

VL - 15

SP - 121

EP - 142

JO - Review of Historical Geography and Toponomastics

JF - Review of Historical Geography and Toponomastics

IS - 29-30

ER -

Plants and Place Names: A Case Study of Abui Toponymy

Abstract

UN SDGs

Keywords

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Polyglot Medical Heritage in Maritime Southeast Asia: Foundational Resources and Digital Tools

Alor's Healing Plants: A Treasure Trove of Medical Knowledge and Oral Tradition

Tanaman obat Alor: Warisan tradisi lisan dan sains lokal

Finding 'Kape': How Language Documentation helps us preserve an endangered language

Plants (Journal)

The Dutch Research Council (External organisation)

Endangered Languages (Le lingue a rischio di estinzione)

Cite this

Plants and Place Names: A Case Study of Abui Toponymy

Abstract

UN SDGs

Keywords

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Projects

Polyglot Medical Heritage in Maritime Southeast Asia: Foundational Resources and Digital Tools

Research output

Alor's Healing Plants: A Treasure Trove of Medical Knowledge and Oral Tradition

Tanaman obat Alor: Warisan tradisi lisan dan sains lokal

Finding 'Kape': How Language Documentation helps us preserve an endangered language

Activities

Plants (Journal)

The Dutch Research Council (External organisation)

Endangered Languages (Le lingue a rischio di estinzione)

Cite this