YorkSpace
    • English
    • français
  • English 
    • English
    • français
  • Login
View Item 
  •   YorkSpace Home
  • International Congress of Onomastic Sciences, ICOS XXIII
  • Proceedings of the 23rd International Congress of Onomastic Sciences
  • View Item
  •   YorkSpace Home
  • International Congress of Onomastic Sciences, ICOS XXIII
  • Proceedings of the 23rd International Congress of Onomastic Sciences
  • View Item
JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

Basque Traces in the Toponymy of Newfoundland and Various Coasts of Atlantic Canada

Thumbnail
View/Open
icos23_1051.pdf (600.6Kb)
Date
2009
Author
Weyers, Christian

Metadata
Show full item record
Abstract
Whereas the first and undoubtedly most important toponymic stratum of the island of Newfoundland and
adjacent waters is Portuguese, the presence of Basques from the 1530s to the late 17th century on the South
and West coasts of Newfoundland, the islands of Cape Breton, Saint-Pierre and Miquelon and on the left
bank of the Saint Lawrence River had relatively little impact on the geographical nomenclature.
Documentation is rare and not readily accessible, and the omnipresence of French during this period was
not at all favorable to the development of appellations given by French and Spanish Basques. Many names
are now extinct, others have been Frenchified and Anglicized ('Port au Port', 'Port au Choix', 'Ingornachoix').
The most complete repertory of Basque names (although many of them are mixed or hybrid
appellations) is to be found in Pierre Detcheverry’s edition of the rutter of Martín de Hoyarçabal (Bayonne
1677). In contrast, his map of 1689 and that of Denis de Rotis (1676) offer only a relatively small number.
An accurate comparison of maps and charts from the 16th and 17th century until today will show to what
extent Basque names – including those of minor geographical features – have stayed, been altered or
vanished completely.
Other categories, e.g., the commemorative names ('Lac de ~' and 'Anse de l’Échafaud du Basque',
'Basque Island', etc.) and name transfers of places of origin with reference to the Basque Country ('Amuitx',
'Plasencia') – some of them hypothetical ('Cape Breton') – will also be discussed in this paper.
Citation
Proceedings of the 23rd International Congress of Onomastic Sciences
URI
https://yorkspace-new.library.yorku.ca/xmlui/handle/10315/4050
Collections
  • Proceedings of the 23rd International Congress of Onomastic Sciences

All items in the YorkSpace institutional repository are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved except where explicitly noted.

YorkU LogoContact Us | Send Feedback
link to sitemap

 

Browse

All of YorkSpaceCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjects

My Account

LoginRegister

Statistics

View Usage Statistics

All items in the YorkSpace institutional repository are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved except where explicitly noted.

YorkU LogoContact Us | Send Feedback
link to sitemap