Silesian onimic universals as exemplified by geographic names derived from the names of birds

Abstract

The subject matter of this paper is the geographic names of Silesia derived from the names of birds. Polish and German appellative-derived names of inhabited and uninhabited buildings, as well as oronyms and hydronyms have been analysed. Names of bird species are presented as a universal bases for geographic names in both languages. The analytical part focuses on particular names, their locations, the first records, as well as the real and symbolical meanings of their appellative name-forming bases. The analysis shows a clear similarity in the name-forming trends in both languages. Topographic names describing terrain with respect to certain fauna species occurring there constitute a significant majority (for instance, the most frequent oronym bases are species of birds of prey or night birds). There are also similarities between the symbolical meanings of particular bird species, as well as their valuation. The geographic names derived from the names of birds can therefore be considered to be onimic universals shaping the image of reality in both the Polish and German languages.