Abstract
gabrielaraujo@um.edu.mo
 ABSTRACT. This study describes the toponymic profile of the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe (STP), a former Portuguese colony. Here, we consider (i) its linguistic contact situation, reflected in the toponyms of non-Portuguese etyma (mainly from national languages), and (ii) the structure of the toponymic syntagma in Portuguese. Toponyms are created according to a place's geographic, social, historical, and linguistic reality. Therefore, STP's toponyms are the locus of the Santomean linguistic ecology and memory. Due to its linguistic diversity, the study of Santomean toponymy is transdisciplinary. It contributes to understanding different languages that share São Tomé and Príncipe's ethnicity and linguistic heritage, including multilingual synchronic and/or diachronic conjunctures and the political importance of Portuguese. STP's toponymy expresses a multilingual conjuncture common to the country since the arrival of the Portuguese and (mainly) enslaved Africans from different regions of Africa. Although the Portuguese language and culture have influenced most local toponymy, the Santomean toponymic profile contains endemic linguistic and cultural specificities. Thus, natural phenomena, along with political and historical events, among others, play a role in forming toponyms and characterizing the local toponymy as unique.
Highlights
This study presents a pioneering discussion of the official toponymy of the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe (STP) by describing the main characteristics of STP’s toponyms and toponymic expressions
Kabuverdianu, the heritage language of the descendants of workers from Cape Verde, who arrived there in the late 19th century and throughout the 20th century, is spoken in the archipelago, mainly in Príncipe Island (Agostinho, 2016). Despite such a multilingual scenario, only Portuguese has enjoyed the status of an official language in STP since Portugal’s political emancipation in 1975
Due to the relevance of extralinguistic factors in establishing a site’s toponymic profile, this study describes Santomean toponymy in relation to its multilingual reality2
Summary
This study presents a pioneering discussion of the official toponymy of the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe (STP) by describing the main characteristics of STP’s toponyms and toponymic expressions. The transdisciplinary nature of toponymy studies can contribute to the understanding of different linguistic strata that structure the vernacular expression of a determined speech community within a circumscribed territory It may reflect synchronous and/or diachronic multilingual conjunctures that characterize the observed area (Carvalhinhos, 1998; Dick, 1992; Nash, 2015; Pedersen, 2017). Kabuverdianu (kea), the heritage language of the descendants of workers from Cape Verde, who arrived there in the late 19th century and throughout the 20th century, is spoken in the archipelago, mainly in Príncipe Island (Agostinho, 2016) Despite such a multilingual scenario, only Portuguese has enjoyed the status of an official language in STP since Portugal’s political emancipation in 1975. An analysis of the Santomean toponymic profile is proposed, followed by the final considerations
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