Kuningamäe(d)

The name(s) Kuningamäe This article examines Estonian place names containing the term kuningas ‘king’. The earliest records of Kuninga-names date back to the 16th century. The Place Names Archive of the Institute of the Estonian Language lists more than 200 place names beginning with Kuning(a)-....

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Main Authors: Tiina Laansalu, Peeter Päll
Format: Article
Language:Estonian
Published: SA Kultuurileht 2024-12-01
Series:Keel ja Kirjandus
Subjects:
Online Access:https://keeljakirjandus.ee/ee/archives/37792
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author Tiina Laansalu
Peeter Päll
author_facet Tiina Laansalu
Peeter Päll
author_sort Tiina Laansalu
collection DOAJ
description The name(s) Kuningamäe This article examines Estonian place names containing the term kuningas ‘king’. The earliest records of Kuninga-names date back to the 16th century. The Place Names Archive of the Institute of the Estonian Language lists more than 200 place names beginning with Kuning(a)-. By comparison, terms denoting other noble ranks are significantly less common: there are 86 names starting with krahv ‘count’, 43 with parun ‘baron’, 29 each with keiser ‘emperor’ and prints ‘prince’, four with vürst ‘prince’ (from the German Würst), and one with hertsog ‘duke’. Kuningamäe is a typical Estonian compound place name, composed of kuningas : kuninga ‘king’ + mägi : mäe ‘hill, mountain’. One instance of Kuningamäe is a translation of the German Königsberg, referring to a village near Põltsamaa. Notably, the renowned Königsberg of East Prussia was not translated into Estonian; the German name was retained instead. When Poland reverted the name Kaliningrad to its historical Polish equivalent Królewiec, a parallel debate arose in Estonia. However, Estonia lacks a formal mechanism for standardizing foreign names. Instead, the writing of foreign place names in Estonian is largely guided by the dictionary of standard Estonian. The act of naming is often more than linguistic; it can reflect political, cultural, historical, and societal considerations. This interplay makes it a rich area of study within socio-onomastics.
format Article
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institution Kabale University
issn 0131-1441
2346-6014
language Estonian
publishDate 2024-12-01
publisher SA Kultuurileht
record_format Article
series Keel ja Kirjandus
spelling doaj-art-274d8f8c8e964a4cb0307b4e26289c532024-12-17T20:37:36ZestSA KultuurilehtKeel ja Kirjandus0131-14412346-60142024-12-0167121117112110.54013/kk804a3Kuningamäe(d)Tiina Laansalu0Peeter Päll1Institute of the Estonian LanguageInstitute of the Estonian LanguageThe name(s) Kuningamäe This article examines Estonian place names containing the term kuningas ‘king’. The earliest records of Kuninga-names date back to the 16th century. The Place Names Archive of the Institute of the Estonian Language lists more than 200 place names beginning with Kuning(a)-. By comparison, terms denoting other noble ranks are significantly less common: there are 86 names starting with krahv ‘count’, 43 with parun ‘baron’, 29 each with keiser ‘emperor’ and prints ‘prince’, four with vürst ‘prince’ (from the German Würst), and one with hertsog ‘duke’. Kuningamäe is a typical Estonian compound place name, composed of kuningas : kuninga ‘king’ + mägi : mäe ‘hill, mountain’. One instance of Kuningamäe is a translation of the German Königsberg, referring to a village near Põltsamaa. Notably, the renowned Königsberg of East Prussia was not translated into Estonian; the German name was retained instead. When Poland reverted the name Kaliningrad to its historical Polish equivalent Królewiec, a parallel debate arose in Estonia. However, Estonia lacks a formal mechanism for standardizing foreign names. Instead, the writing of foreign place names in Estonian is largely guided by the dictionary of standard Estonian. The act of naming is often more than linguistic; it can reflect political, cultural, historical, and societal considerations. This interplay makes it a rich area of study within socio-onomastics.https://keeljakirjandus.ee/ee/archives/37792linguisticsestonianplace namesforeign namesname planningsocio-onomastics
spellingShingle Tiina Laansalu
Peeter Päll
Kuningamäe(d)
Keel ja Kirjandus
linguistics
estonian
place names
foreign names
name planning
socio-onomastics
title Kuningamäe(d)
title_full Kuningamäe(d)
title_fullStr Kuningamäe(d)
title_full_unstemmed Kuningamäe(d)
title_short Kuningamäe(d)
title_sort kuningamae d
topic linguistics
estonian
place names
foreign names
name planning
socio-onomastics
url https://keeljakirjandus.ee/ee/archives/37792
work_keys_str_mv AT tiinalaansalu kuningamaed
AT peeterpall kuningamaed