Raakpunte tussen streekgeskiedenis en pleknaamkunde

Abstract

As language is one of the most important cultural relics of human societies of the past, historians should regard it as a valuable and many-sided source of information on the past. This is also true of place-names, perhaps more so. It is therefore natural that there should be points of contact and co-operation between toponymy and regional history. There are, however, practical risks in this cooperation if it is not based on sound scholarship. South African regional historians have not even begun to exploit toponymy, largely because they are ignorant of place-names as a source of information, and, secondly, because of their incompetence in retrieving the information they contain. Since place-names are very resistant to change, they sometimes survive for many centuries, carrying with them information on various matters, e.g. on the original settlers and those who moved in at a later stage, their race, language, and social traditions; on the original landscape, including fauna and flora; on historical events and personalities, and on cultural activities. In some instances place-names can be deceptive and lead the historian astray. He should therefore be wary of names that have no direct bearing on either the location or its inhabitants and of unsound interpretations of place-names.