Urban identity and the image of the city in the communicative paradigm of toponymy

Abstract

The scientific article is devoted to the consideration of the correlations of urban identity and the image of the city as an important symbolic aspect of such identity and urban toponymy. It is determined that the city dweller, constructing his own urban space, acquiring the status of a place, actualizes the images of "his city" (due to subjective experiences and memories, places that have personal significance for the city dweller) and "our city" (the subject is the urban community, for members which is characterized by self-identification with the values of this urban area). At the same time, in the formation of urban identity, attachment to a place is most significant, which is traditionally understood as a feeling of connection with a specific physical environment based on the meanings that are attached to this physical environment and activities in relation to this space. This attachment to the place allows you to establish a cognitive-emotional connection with the place, which determines both the emergence of a sense of security and belonging to "one's own group". The image of the city includes meanings that are significant for the individual and society, which allow identifying the territory as a place associated with the experience of urban identity. Urban identity for a person is filled with modal meanings, conditionally divided into positive and negative. Acceptance of urban space and knowledge of the area itself, its names and topoi determines the leading role of urban toponymy, which it plays in the communicative paradigm of the city. The special semiotic status of toponymy is determined by the historical, geographical and cultural content of the symbolic images reproduced by toponyms. The functioning of toponyms is influenced by the urban identity of a person or social group, objectified in the image of the city inherent in them