Place Names and Migration

Under the auspices of the Joint ICA/IGU Commission on Toponymy a symposium took place in Vienna resulting in these proceedings. The topic of the symposium and this book, place names in the context of migration, was approached in two ways: synchronically, i.e. with reference to modern migration situations, and diachronically, i.e. in the historical dimension, with regard to the multitude and variety of migrations throughout the course of history. As far as place names are concerned, migration can be directed to areas with little or no names, but also to areas with a dense and well-established namescape. In the latter case, it is interesting to see how migrants with other linguistic and cultural backgrounds deal with the names they find. This can differ depending on whether migration occurs individually or in groups, whether it is backed by strong political power – as in the case of conquest and colonisation – or whether migrants over- or underlay the resident society in the social sense. The book thus offers some approximation to the relation between migration and geographical names. It explores much of the diversity of this topic but reveals at the same time a clear need for further research.