Microtoponyms in the Rába Valley

Geographical names denoting features on the Earth’s surface also include microtoponyms: house names (Sln. hišna imena) and field names (Sln. ledinska imena). Due to their development and origin, both house and field names are vital not only for onomastic research, but also historical, geographical, and other related research. As such, they also form part of intangible cultural heritage.

Due to social changes and modernization, house and field names are slowly disappearing from living use and, because they are not systematically collected, their existence is under threat. These names are especially vulnerable in Slovenia’s cross-border areas, where the use of Slovenian is already limited and where such names reflect early Slovenian settlement. A few years ago, house and field names were systematically collected and analyzed in Austrian Carinthia, and they were also added to the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage. Inclusion on this list shows the importance of preserving and maintaining these types of geographical names. These names would most likely not have achieved this status without the special effort of Slovenian cultural and educational societies, cross-border engagement from Slovenia, and the commitment of Austrian onomasticians. The situation in the area inhabited by ethnic Slovenians in Hungary is somewhat different. The Slovenian minority in Hungary is the smallest cross-border Slovenian minority, and its legal protection in terms of language use and geographical names is also significantly poorer. Consequently, the identification of house and field names there is even more important.

As part of this project, we will examine the available archival sources containing such names in the Rába Valley and we will prepare the working material for field studies. In cooperation with locals that still speak the dialect, we will check the names collected, transcribe them in their dialect form, and collect other related attributes. We will produce thematic maps with house and field names, and publications for the public and the professional community, and we will include the names collected in an online thematic atlas.