Hälsingska ortnamn på -åck, -uck med sörmländska motsvarigheter

Abstract

This article aims to demonstrate how the final element of some place-names with a modern or reconstructed older pronunciation [-ɔk], [-ok], [-ʊk] can be traced back phonetically to the appellative vik ʻbay, inlet, coveʼ. In the province of Södermanland there are six place-names in which [-ɔk] appears in both modern pronunciation and in older spellings, rendered there as -aak, -ack, etc. In a majority of cases the names later took the form -åker (åker ʻarable landʼ). In the province of Hälsingland the final element of three of the names was phonetically replaced by [-ɪk], and given an orthography accordingly. The [-ɪk] element occurs in several place-names throughout the region, all of which can be traced back to vik. The older spellings of the two remaining names – now lost – seem to indicate an [-ɔk], [-ok] pronunciation. Certain appellatives, personal names and other place-names appear to have undergone a similar phonological development and are presented here as evidence. The first elements of the majority of the Södermanland place-names were previously discussed by another onomastician, and in the current study the first elements of the Hälsingland names have been scrutinised by the author. All of the eleven Hälsingland and Södermanland names occur quite close to bays or inlets that either still exist or have dried up owing to land uplift.