The article is dedicated to the analysis of ideologically meaningful proper names, mainly oikonyms, and also to the indication and description of the three main tendencies noticed in Ukrainian oikonyms from the end of 1989 until 2016, during the social and political transformations in Ukraine and the decommunization processes connected with it. Using examples, the authors illustrate the phenomenon of korenizatsiya (nativisation), namely the recovery of historical names from before sovietisation, allusiveness, ensuring a neutral nature for names by referring to objects outside the area of politics and ideology, as well as glorification, the honoring and memorializing of events, heroes, and symbols connected with the past and modern history of Ukraine.

The aim of the article is to present selected Slavic compound names, including first names reconstructed from toponyms, which are the basis of the oldest place names (i.e. recorded in the Medieval documents). The paper announces a broader research project which aims to present an overall perspective of the anthroponymic motivation of geographical names from onomastic-linguistic, historical, demographic-migratory, geographical and frequency-based aspects. This study will focus upon a variety of topics, such as: chronology, frequency, geography of the name-based toponyms, their onomastic variants and morphological structure. Moreover, the following issues will be indicated: resources and the spread of the naming structures, the survivability and productivity of certain name groups in the toponymic nomination process. Cultural, ideological, religious and social causes which favor the production of certain types of names, including compound names, will be indicated.

The aim of the paper is to discuss the linguistic and onymic properties of the geographical names of the Hutsul region (Гуцульщина, Ukraine) used by Stanisław Vincenz in the first volume (“Prawda starowieku”) of his tetralogy “Na wysokiej połoninie” (“On the High Uplands”). The volume was first published in 1936. The second edition appeared in 1980 in Poland and was the one which had the greatest impact on the reception of the Vincenz’s work in the Polish readership after WW2. This is why the 1980 edition has been used as the source of analysed toponymic material. The main finding is that the analysed toponymy is of heterogeneous and (to a certain extent) hybrid nature, combining Polish, Ukrainian, and dialectal Hucul linguistic properties, which perfectly coincides with general tendency in the use of geographical names of the Hucul region in texts produced in the Polish language from the mid-19th century. The names used by Vincenz in the book written in the period 1930–1936 seem to faithfully reflect some specific characteristics of Hutsul toponymy in the 1930s (as discussed by the linguist Stefan Hrabec in his dissertation). Finally, some instances of toponyms’ declension present in “Prawda starowieku” are discussed together with some examples of (partially folk) etymologies codified by Vincenz in his work.

Wine is a crucial part of the cultural history of the territory within the current borders of Bulgaria from the earliest times until now. It plays an important role in the life of Bulgarians and is a multiethnic heritage of this land. Bulgarian toponyms only archive a lexicon associated with wine in a small degree, with more toponyms found regarding vines and vineyards which were characteristic elements of the native landscape. The Bulgarian enonyms constitute a “multilingual patchwork”, where the locality (present, but not dominant) is mixed with globality. Locality is mainly reflected in the detoponymic and deanthroponymic names referring to the Bulgarian heritage and also the Thracian, Greek and Roman legacy of those lands. Globality is revealed in the linguistic “hybridity” manifested by the free use of foreign models, naming vocabulary and intertextuality appealing to a global experience. This part of Bulgarian enonymy derives mainly from the English and French language, as well as Spanish, Italian, Greek and Latin.

This article is devoted to the official forms in the inflection of chosen toponyms in Poland and the variety of dialectal singular and plural place names. The variety of place names often diverges from the rules of language use, and causes language users problems. The toponyms have peculiar, locally used inflected forms; the outside-linguistic (non-linguistic) factors that are social and local factors, play an important role in the inflection of place names. The local population often uses other forms than those recommended by official sources. I focus my attention on the genitive forms of toponyms because it is mainly here that one can see clear variations in the official and local inflection of place names. The material shows that the singular masculine toponyms have genitive endings: -a (in the official variety), -u (in the local variety), for example Biłgoraj, gen. Biłgoraja, but in the local dialect: biłgoraju. The singular feminine place names have genitive endings: -ej (in the official variety), -y||-i (in the local variety): Brzezowa, gen. Brzezowej, but Brzezowy in the local dialect. The plural toponyms have genitive endings: -ø, -ów, -i (-y), but in the local circulation the ending -ów is dominant and demonstrates a wider expansion in use. For example Brzózki, gen. Brzózek, in the local variety Brzuskuf; Budy, official gen. Bud, but Buduf; Burnie, gen. Burni, in the local dialect: Burniuf. The gathered material reflects a hesitation in the inflection of toponyms, as the linguistic customs and presented dialectal records of forms of genit ives of place names show a significantly diverse approach towards the Polish language.

There are many ways of choosing or creating a name, the ways of which vary from culture to culture, and from language to language. Chinese onyms are usually constructed of one or more elements, being mostly lexical items (morphemes or words), and retaining in most cases their own lexical meaning in a name, therefore they are usually semantically transparent. However, the “true” significance of some names is sometimes very difficult to discover, and the conclusion is often based upon guesswork. What is evident, Chinese onyms are not random combinations; they usually have a certain underlying significance, reflecting the reason or reasons why particular lexical items are used in the naming process. Chinese researchers usually do not mention “the meaning” of names as a criterion for their semantic divisions. Their classifications are mainly based upon the variously termed “reasons”, “methods”, “motivations”, or “sources of naming”. Therefore, this paper deals with some selected, typical and untypical, “methods” of creating Chinese names, especially given names and place names.

This article presents some cultural, historical and linguistic insights on the names of the Szczutowskie and Urszulewskie Lakes, both situated in the historical Dobrzyńskie Lakeland, today on the border between the Mazovian and Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeships (the historical border between Polish and Prussian-Teutonic states). The author also takes into account the description of the local place and terrain names, showing a common relation with the natural landscape, in which the two lakes are immersed.