Study of the occurrence and distribution of „Iezer“ and „Bolătău“- based toponyms in Romania and their counterparts from Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia
1 Faculty of Geography and Geology, “Al. I. Cuza” University of Iași, Romania 2 Department of Geography, “Ștefan cel Mare” University of Suceava, Romania 3
Institute of Geography and Spatial Management, Hydrology Department, Jagiellonian University,
Poland 4 National Institute of Biology, Ljubljana, Slovenia 5 Department of Human Geography and Regional Development, University of Ostrava, Czech Republic
DOI:
10.4316/GEOREVIEW.2012.21.1.56
Pages:
68 - 79
Abstract:
The paper aims to investigate the distribution and evolution
of toponyms derivative of the words „iezer” and “bolătău” (Romanian)
and their counterparts in the neighboring countries, where such
homologous words/toponyms exist, i.e. Poland, the Czech Republic and
Slovenia. We documented that at present the terms where the
toponyms originated (“iezer”/”jezero”/”jezioro” and “bolătău”/”blato”/
”błoto”) are largely regarded as archaic forms, particularly “bolătău”/
”blato”/”błoto” throughout the study area. However, toponyms based
on both words are still in use in a large number of derivative variants
(especially in the Slavic-speaking countries), which attest their age and
relevance in the toponymical practice, albeit to a different extent and
with national and regional variations in terms of occurrence. The study
also indicates that, whereas the research topic requires further
exploration in the shape of a quantitative approach investigation, given
the complexity of toponymical studies within such an extensive area, it
can be inferred that currently the vast majority of toponyms based on
the two terms do not refer to water bodies, but have been transferred to
other elements of the landscape.