Toponymy and, more specifically, toponymic generics constitute an important source of geographical terminology, which is a valuable object of study in both linguistics and cultural geography. Based ...on this, the authors compiled, analysed and classified the oronymic generics of the Balearic Islands (Spain) from the largest toponymic collection of the archipelago, made up of some 50,000 place names gathered for the Balearic Topographical Map at a scale of 1:5,000. A considerable part of toponyms was obtained from field work, which consisted of hundreds of interviews with informants previously selected for their special knowledge of the territory they live in. Field work allowed to obtain popular (“folk,” “unofficial”) toponyms that contain specific generics used in the function of geographical terms, often based on metaphor or another type of semantic shift. This work made it possible to bring together the terms that, in the Catalan language of the Balearic Islands, identify the diverse inland orographic morphologies of each of the islands that form the archipelago (Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza, and Formentera). The corpus of terminology relating to the names of the relief of the Balearic Islands is formed by 120 oronymic generics. All the terms are classified into three groups distinguishing between terms related to positive relief features (macro, meso- and micro-relief), negative relief features (elongated, rounded, and elevated depressions), and neutral relief that brings together and differentiates forms of vertical, horizontal, inclined and stepped relief. Quantitative observations made by the author show the relatively wider diversity of terminology used in the names of positive relief features, in which macro-relief features are predominant. In the negative relief group, the most varied subgroup of term relates to longitudinal depressions, while in the neutral relief the biggest part of terms specifically designates sloped landforms.
Geographic literacy is a field of research with a great tradition. This area was first developed in the British and North American academic circles in the 1980s and 1990s, and research has continued ...until the present day. The analysis of perception and knowledge of geography has focused on the enclaves (toponyms) mentioned in the mental maps (place location knowledge) prepared by university undergraduate students of the primary education teaching major. However, this focus is also on an approach where few studies have been made, yet it has been facilitated by the incorporation of modern geographic information technologies. The authors test a methodology for surface area and perimeter size analysis on the mental maps of the Balearic Islands made by future teachers, comparing their distortions in relation to the real model. After analyzing the results, the most notable common pattern describing the insular students' perception of the isles is ethnocentrism, which undoubtedly has important implications in the field of geographic education.
La toponimia describe el paisaje, actual e histórico, a través de la percepción de sus habitantes. Mediante los principios de transparencia y significatividad territorial, los nombres de lugar ...reflejan las características geográficas, entre las que destaca el color como un rasgo muy visible y llamativo del terreno. El análisis de la cromotoponimia permite obtener una visión cromática del paisaje balear con resultados significativos a partir de la aplicación de la teoría de Berlin y Kay sobre el orden de las etapas evolutivas de las culturas en relación a los términos básicos del color.
The article underscores that the cartographic language used in social science textbooks for primary education in Spain is unsuitable and does not meet the demands of the official syllabus. ...Consequently, pupil literacy in geography with regard to regional geography is markedly ethnocentric.
To demonstrate this, the cartographic content of textbooks is compared to the knowledge pupils have acquired on regional realities towards the end of this education stage. Specifically, certain aspects of mental maps of the Balearic Islands produced by year six primary pupils at twelve Majorcan schools are analysed. Based on this school cartography, a diagnostic exercise is performed on island pupils' literacy in geography in their last year of basic education. The use of spatial analysis tools enables us to conclude that there is low-level intersectionality between academic knowledge (insufficient) and ethnocentric knowledge (majority) - symbolic proof that the educational philosophy at most Spanish schools provides significantly poor learning.
The cultural identity of each of the larger islands that make up the Balearic archipelago is shown through the local geographical terminology and toponymy, which are results of the successive ...overlapping of languages and cultures brought to the islands by various peoples throughout history. By classifying and analyzing the toponymy and geographical terminology of the Balearic Islands, unique particularities can be found. There are differences between each of the islands, as well as with non-island territory, as a result of centuries of isolation. This same isolation has also led to the preservation of terminology and other linguistic aspects, and has created an endemic culture. The results of the records of terminology that contribute to the geographical and cultural characterization of the Balearic Islands are presented along with some keys to understanding the islands' idiosyncrasies.
The cultural identity of each of the larger islands that make up the Balearic archipelago is shown through the local geographical terminology and toponymy, which are results of the successive ...overlapping of languages and cultures brought to the islands by various peoples throughout history. By classifying and analyzing the toponymy and geographical terminology of the Balearic Islands, unique particularities can be found. There are differences between each of the islands, as well as with non-island territory, as a result of centuries of isolation. This same isolation has also led to the preservation of terminology and other linguistic aspects, and has created an endemic culture. The results of the records of terminology that contribute to the geographical and cultural characterization of the Balearic Islands are presented along with some keys to understanding the islands' idiosyncrasies. Keywords: Balearic Islands, cultural identity, ethnography, geographical terminology, nissology, toponymy
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