The Wendish Research Exchange - Wenzel, Walter: Classifications of Slavonic Place Names

Lětopis Abstract 2023:It is generally well known that the task of every academic discipline is to establish a complete classification of all the elements under investigation, i.e., they should be presented in a logically developed order. This was achieved for the first time in Slavonic onomastics in 1834 by the well-known historian, František Palacký. He was followed by Franz von Miklosich, who based his work for the first time on a broad range of material. The Pole, Tadeusz Wojciechowski, was concerned primarily in his classification attempts to increase our knowledge of the history of Slavonic settlements. Witold Taszycki based his classification primarily on semantic criteria, whereas Stanisław Rospond based his on formal criteria. The detailed classification by Vladimír Šmilauer was based on the extensive material on Czech place names. The Structural forms of Slav place names by Ernst Eichler und Rudolf Šrámek, represents the high point of attempts at classification up to the present day. As a contrast to this extensive collection of material, which has been classified in great detail by the authors, our own division with its seven sub-classes and 21 types of place name, provides a significantly simpler and quicker way of approaching the material.