CURRENT TENDENCIES IN THE NAMING OF PLACES: (on the synchronic approach to place names)

Place names in Russia and in Australia are analyzed by the so-called synchronic method, which examines names in their present context and as they are now perceived by the population rather than in terms of their etymology. Several semantic classes are defined: place names with negative connotations (famine, dirt, etc.), which have been largely eliminated in the Soviet Union; names based on anthroponyms, commemorating notable personalities; descriptive names, reflecting peculiarities of landscape, landforms, fauna or flora; names based on words with positive connotations. Some universal tendencies in the naming of places are noted in Kaliningrad Oblast of the Soviet Union, the former East Prussia, where virtually all German names have been replaced by Russian names, and in Australia, where the English-language place-name tradition dates back only about 200 years. Wider use of the synchronic technique, as opposed to the etymological approach, is recommended in place-name studies as an effective way of identifying the actual functioning of geographical names.