Historical Aspect Of Canadian Regional Toponymic Nominations

6.1. Amerindian layer

A review of the modern map of Canada shows an abundance of names that differ sharply in form from European ones. These are toponyms that have arisen on the basis of numerous indigenous languages ​​of the Indian tribes of Canada such as Cree, Algonquin, Iroquois: Saskatchewan, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Ontario, Athabasca, Yukon, Quebec, Ottawa, Niagara, Erie.

In Canada, the Native American layer is represented by the following groups of toponyms: a) Native American names preserved in their original form; b) Native American names assimilated by French and English; c) Native American names represented in the translation into English and French;

Let us consider these groups:

a) Aboriginal names that have survived to the present day in the least distorted form and have not been assimilated by European languages ​​are recorded on a geographical map throughout Canada: Comox, Cowichan, Esquimalt, Kelowna (BC); Attawapiskat, Chippawa, Ekwan (ON), Arthabaska, Causcapscal, Escuminac (NS); Escuminac, Nackawic, Pokemoucher (NB), Kamsack, Moosomin (SK).

In the Maritime provinces, toponyms have retained the geographical terms of Indian origin: bogan, padou - in the Mikmak language and the Malaysite “strait adjacent to the river”. In the north of New Brunswick, these terms are found 30 times and are recorded in many names: Fanton Bogan, Mersereau Bogan, Pickards Padou, Sugar Island Padou.

During the settlement of the territory of modern Canada, the Indians preferred the prairies and mixed forests, including the lands near the Great Lakes and partly the Atlantic coast. In the Pacific Southwest and in the Prairie provinces, names are not only preserved for natural objects, but also refer to provinces and large settlements: Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Okanagan (BC), Manitou (MB), Wawanesa (MB), Saskatoon (SK).

b) Native American names subjected to English and French assimilation

The first colonists faced the difficulty of transmitting by means of their mother tongue the phonetic features of Native American names. These phonetic difficulties lead to a distortion of the original sound form of place names, which in turn affects the instability of their French and English spelling. The modern spelling of Native American names is also affected by the fact that many of them come to English through French. Constantly communicating with the Indians, the French adopted many names that currently bear traces of French assimilation:

Using the toponymic suffix que : oikonym Petekook from the language of the Indians of the tribe Mikmak was transformed into Bedeque (PE); Lameque (NB) is the result of the assimilation by the French language, and accordingly the simplification of the pronunciation of the toponym Elmugwadasik.

The top-forming formant che is present in many toponyms pronounced in a French manner: Bouctouche (NB) from Native American Chebuktoosk , Restigouche (NB) from Native American Lustagooch , Tatamagouche (NS) from Native American Takumegooch .

From the above examples it follows that the presence of Native American names with a French reading prevails in the areas in which the French-Canadian population has survived - these are the Maritime provinces, in particular the territory of the former Acadia - New Brunswick, also Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.

Indian names that have been simplified and assimilated by the English language are recorded in the Prairie provinces: Michichi (AB), Minnewanka (AB), in the Maritime provinces: Merigomish (NS). In the English version, topobases and topoformants contain common and familiar combinations of letters: sh, ch at the end of the words.

A large group is represented by c) Native American names translated into English and French. The reason for this was phonetic difficulties. The attempts of Europeans to make out and reproduce the names inevitably led to their distortion. In cases where the meaning of the Native American name could be ascertained, it was usually translated into English or French. So, there are names like: Beaver Crossing (AB), Cold Lake (AB), Crowsnest (AB), Manyberries (AB), Thunder Bay (ON), Portage River (PE), Swift Current (SK), Carrot River (SK).

Native American names translated into French are found both in the Prairie provinces, where French-speaking Métis Catholics migrated from the northwestern territories, and in the Pacific province of British Columbia and the Maritime provinces: Canard (NS) “duck”, Souris (MB) “ mouse ”, Pouce Coup (BC)“ cut off finger”, Portage La Prairie (BC) “canoe transfer along the prairie to the river ”, Castor (AB)“ beaver”, Babine Lake (BC) “sagging lip”, Lac Du Bonnet (MB) "lake shaped like a cap".

6.2. French layer

On the modern map of Canada, the French influence is traced in the toponymy of the territory where France dominated in the colonial period.

In the Prairie provinces, the presence of French names is explained by the migration of French-speaking mestizos from central and northeastern Canada in connection with the development of the south and west of Canada.

Examples are Castor, Grande Cache (AB), Grande Prairie Gros Morne, Port de Grave (NF), Barachois (NS), Crapaud (PE), Bienfait, La Ronge (SK).

Of the early French names, the most preserved are the names of natural objects (rivers, lakes, islands), which in many cases retain their original form to date: Lac la Biche (AB), Lac la Hache (BC), Pelee Island (ON). The French oikonyms in the English-speaking environment are developing in a different way. The French oikonyms are closer than other names to the everyday practice of native speakers and therefore undergo major changes. One of the forms of their perception is phonetic assimilation, in which these names, associated with consonant English words, are rethought, which leads to a change in their sound form: Hant’s Harbor (NF) originally looked like the French name L’Anse Arbe or Anse Arbre . The modern spelling is the result of the Anglification of the French version. In addition, the tendency toward simplification inherent in colloquial speech, which can also lead to a significant change in the initial form of names, is constantly manifesting itself: Amet Island (NS) goes back to l’armet ("helmet"), referring to the shape of the island. The modern form is the result of the simplification of the French name île l’Armet inherent in colloquial speech.

Thus, the French oikonyms underwent significant phonetic adaptation. Also, the change in the initial form is manifested in the combination of the French descriptive element with the English appellative, which facilitates the pronunciation: Chaleur Bay (NB), Cache Bay (PE), Fourchu Harbor (NS). Currently, the French sound is preserved only in the French-speaking environment.

Toponyms with the belle component “beautiful” are quite common in combination with both English and French words, in continuous or separate spelling: Belledune (NB), Belleisle (NB), Belle Marche (NS), Belle River (PE), Belle Bay (NF).

6.3. English layer

The English layer of toponymic vocabulary is the most extensive, its formation can be traced back to the 17th century, with the appearance of the first permanent English settlements in eastern Canada and with the further advance of the colonists to the west in the 18th - 19th centuries (Parkin & Harry, 2015).

The map indicates the presence of topographic objects of Celtic and Anglo-Saxon origin in Canada.

The most preserved toponymic-forming components with Celtic roots, which we can observe as part of Canadian toponyms, are formants from the Gaelic language, which belongs to the Celtic group of languages:

-more "large",

-loch "lake",

-glen "narrow valley",

-brae "hillock",

-barra "hilly island",

-strath "wide valley".

Geographic names with similar components are widespread in modern Scotland and Ireland. Examination of Canada map data reveals a certain pattern of distribution of toponyms with such formants in the areas of settlement of Scottish highlanders and immigrants from the west of England - in Nova Scotia, where the largest number of immigrants arrived. Thus, topoformants are markers or indicators of the settlement of ethnic groups, by which you can trace the stages of formation of toponymic vocabulary, contacts of languages ​​and cultures.

Examples are Creemore (ON), Blairmore (AB); Glencoe, Glencorradale, Glenfinnan (PE), Barra Glen, Barra Head, Barra Mens Cove (NS), Glenholme (NS), Glenboro (MB), Glen Kerr (SK); Gairloch, Lochaber, Loch Ban (NS); Strathroy (ON), Strathlorne (NS). In Celtic languages, the basis of the toponym (appellative, geographical term) occupies an initial position. This method of “isolating regularly repeating components allows one to establish those that are modern indicators of the Celtic origin of names” (Belenkaya, 1977). Components -loch, -glen, -barra, - brae characterize elevated terrain landscape with lakes and wide valleys typical of the provinces of Nova Scotia, Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Prince Edward Island.

Anglo-Saxon or Old English components are evenly distributed throughout the country and are represented by the following most stable topoformants:

-ton "fenced place, farm, village",

-borough, -boro, -burg "fortified place",

-ham "homestead",

-vale "valley",

-hurst "forest hill".

Names that include these suffixes or created with their help are understandable to all native English speakers, that is, they are perceived precisely as oikonyms (Belenkaya, 1977).

Searston, Roddickton, Winterton (NF), Emyvale, Clementsvale (PE), Lornevale (NS), Kingsburg (NS), Gravelbourg (SK), Peterborough (ON), Tottenham (ON), Waterborough (NB), Kingshurst (NB). The first component in such oikonyms can be expressed in a proper name - Peterborough; last name - Tottenham, Searston, Roddickton, Clementsvale, Lornevale, Gravelbourg; household name - Waterborough, Kingsburg, Kingshurst.

The map indicates that the most productive suffixes are -ton, -borough, -burg , the regions of distribution of which are the provinces of Ontario, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, where immigrants from the Anglo-Saxon settlements of the southeast and west of England live. Suffixes -vale, -hurst are found in the toponyms of the Maritime provinces that characterize the local landscape.

One of the most stable topoformants used by settlers from the British Isles in Canada to designate new objects are components of Scandinavian origin. The most stable topoformants of Scandinavian origin in the territory of the English-speaking provinces are:

-ford "fjord", "ford",

-holm "plateau island",

-dale "valley",

-thorp "a small farm."

Campbellford, Thamesford (ON), Claresholm (AB), Coaldale (AB), Karsdale (NS), Louisdale (NS), Wiltondale (NF), Mayerthorpe (AB). Suffixes of Scandinavian origin are widespread in the provinces of Ontario and Alberta, as well as in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. Suffixes of Scandinavian origin as the final component of the name are found mainly with proper names: Campbellford, Claresholm, Mayerthorpe, Wiltondale.

When toponymic suffixes are included in the toponym, they lose their original meaning, i.e. there is a process of their de-semantization. Suffixes -ford, -thorp, -dale, -holm denote any land area and are perceived as a toponymic formant. They do not have the importance that they had during the formation of the toponymy of England.