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Toponymy on Norfolk Island, South Pacific: The Microcosm of Nepean Island

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Date

2009

Authors

Nash, Joshua

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

York University

Abstract

Norfolk Island, South Pacific provides linguists a near laboratory case study in naming, language contact and environmental management. The two languages spoken on the island, Norf’k – the language of the descendents of the Pitcairners – and English, are both used in placenaming. This study analyses the toponyms of Nepean Island, a small uninhabitable island 800 metres south of Norfolk, and poses the question of whether Nepean is a microcosm of naming behaviour for the rest of the Norfolk macrocosm. For its size Nepean Island offers a large number of toponyms and suggests a toponymic template applicable to the Norfolk archipelago as a whole. This analysis offers some results one is likely to get from doing toponymic research on uninhabited island environments.

Description

Keywords

Toponymy of Norfolk Island, Nepean Island, Norfolk Island

Citation

Proceedings of the 23rd International Congress of Onomastic Sciences