The Power of Naming in Describing Oronyms: From Geolocalities and Appellatives to Geotourism

Abstract

Words and ideas are associated in the human consciousness in various ways, and so the words that express these ideas and terms can also be associated with each other or associate in a variety of ways. Romantic mental images would certainly be awakened by the terms Nevjestina glava, Draga kosa and Ljubinska. Those triggered by the series: Mrtvanje, Prokletnice, Ubojiti do, Vražija kosa would be eerie, and more dangerous than these could be the ideas for the terms Crnačka ladina, Crna or Turska glava, in case there are allusions to racism and nationalism. However, if we approach the same examples as geoinformation, it is clear that the first ideas were on the wrong track. Since the highlighted terms are oronyms, if we think about them, we are on the track of visualizing the hilly and mountainous area of Bosnia and Herzegovina. While it is more difficult to grasp the meaning of oronyms in which the motive of naming is a metaphor or the basis has become archaism, in semantically transparent oronyms, mental images, clear and idyllic, are easily created. Special attention is paid to anthropomorphic metaphors in oronymy, which are proof that oronyms can often deceive; to show and speak one thing and to be and mean something else. That is why it is necessary to approach them with the utmost caution. In this regard, the paper analyzes oronyms motivated by the geomorphological features of the area, and determines appellatives, meanings, categorization, altitude and location. The analysis of the names of natural elevations in Bosnia and Herzegovina will not only improve onomastic research but will also offer conclusions for the valorization of the tourist potential in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Defined groups of oronyms that refer to attractive geolocalities and geodiversity in general could serve the development of geotourism.