New Achievements in Bulgarian Onomastics Review of the book: Choleva-Dimitrova, A. (2019). Mestni i rodovi imena ot Tsaribrodsko [Toponyms and Patronyms of Tsaribrod Municipality]. Blagoevgrad: Neofi t Rilski. 314 p.

Abstract

The review of the book Toponyms and Patronyms of Tsaribrod Municipality presents the work of Prof. Anna Choleva-Dimitrova in the context of her research activity and against the background of modern toponymic research in Bulgaria and abroad. The monograph consists of 314 pages, includes an introduction, five chapters, and appendices: a map of the investigated settlements of the former Tsaribrod district and an etymological reference for the settlement names. The study aims to explore the toponymic and anthroponymic system of the settlements that remained outside of the Bulgarian state border after 1919 and that presently belong to the Republic of Serbia. The research covers over 3,000 microtoponyms and 545 patronyms preserving common features and many ancient elements of the Bulgarian onymic system. The review explores the methodology of linguistic analysis applied to the onymic material from the Tsaribrod region and points out its contribution to Slavic onomastics study. This includes: 1) anthroponymic reconstruction of names which allows the author to discover a part of the Slavic anthroponymic system, 2) the method of applying multiple comparative data on onyms (toponymic parallels) from the neighboring regions.