Osoitteena Osmankäämintie: tutkimus eräästä ryhmänimistöstä

• Tiina Aalto

Avainsanat: nimistöntutkimus

Abstrakti

Multiple naming schemes: street naming using plant names (englanti)

2/2002 (106)

MULTIPLE NAMING SCHEMES: STREET NAMING USING PLANT NAMES

The article examines multiple naming, which is nowadays a common method used in the planning of official names, such as street names. In multiple naming, a common theme may be used in naming, for example, all the streets in a particular locality. The examples presented in the article are from Tikkurila in Vantaa, where most (228) of the street names have a plant theme.

The writer analyses the street names from the user viewpoint, both diachronically and synchronically. The plant-based street names were introduced in the 1960s, when dozens of the areas existing street names were changed in line with the new naming scheme. Reports in the local newspapers revealed the type of difficulties encountered with this re-naming and what the residents thought about it.

The article presents the opinions and views of the users of the areas present street names, both those that are based on plant names and those that arent. The principal method employed was a written questionnaire, which was answered by 17 of the areas residents. This was supplemented by five personal interviews.

In the opinion of the local residents, a good street name should not be difficult to pronounce. Moreover, it should be easily understood and should be indicative of its locality. The questionnaire results indicate that in most cases the plant names are very suitable as street names because they have pleasant associations with the areas proximity to nature. Especially popular are the short names (e.g. Liljatie Lily Street) and the names in which the nature theme is also linked with a water element (e.g. Kaislatie Reed Street, Osmankmintie Bulrush Street). Themes related to nature and the countryside have often been used in official naming schemes, and such names evidently incorporate a certain symbolism that pleases users of the names.

Tiina Aalto ([e-mail])