The Toponymy and the Dialect of the Island of Rivanj

Sa？etak This article consists of two parts: the description of the dialect of the island of Rivanj and the analysis of its toponymy. The description of the dialect of Rivanj is mostly based on phonology and includes some morpho-syntactic features which are found in the toponymy of Rivanj. The dialect of Rivanj belongs to the Middle-Chakavian Ikavian-Ekavian dialectal group. Some of its main phonological and accentual features are: closed pronunciation of the vowel a？ (.), diphthongisation of the vowels e？ (> ie) and o？ (> uo), neutralisation of the Chakavian acute accent and lengthening of the vowels in stressed syllables. The part related to toponomastics comprises a list of toponyms, a toponomastic map, a semantic classification of toponyms and an index of toponyms. In the context of semantic classification of toponyms, different motivations for name choice, identified in the root form of the toponyms in the corpus of Rivanj, are analysed. The most common motivations are: geomorphological features of the referent, human activities, anthroponyms, animals and vegetation. Referential toponyms whose toponymic form refers to other toponyms and toponyms whose motivation is unknown or doubtful, are treated separately. The results of this analysis confirm human activities (especially agriculture) as the main motivational drive in the toponymy of Rivanj and a very dense distribution of toponyms on the island’s hinterland. On the other hand, maritime activities are hardly reflected in the toponymy of Rivanj. This confirms the orientation of the inhabitants of Rivanj towards the land and agricultural activities, which have been present since ancient times