Normative and registration functions of the dictionary of toponyms

Abstract

The instability and lack of uniformity in the spelling of toponyms in both official and informal communication poses a significant social concern in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). The nominative function of geographical names is directly associated to their stable orthography. However, currently, there exist inconsistencies and significant discrepancies in the spelling of toponyms in official documents and reference books, including the state register, that are responsible for registering the correct spellings of geographical objects. This increases errors in all areas where this vocabulary is used. The relevance of the study is due to the fact that standardisation of proper names, including toponyms, is understudied in modern linguistics, and there is an urgent need to develop the principles of strengthening the spelling and pronunciation of names of geographical objects, in particular oikonyms, taking into account regional characteristics. The aim of the work is to consider the problems of standardising the oikonyms of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) in various normative and reference sources and suggest ways of their registration in the toponymic dictionary in accordance with language rules. The article analyses the main types of spelling errors made in the existing toponymic sources and suggests strategies for choosing the spelling of geographical names. The complicated cases of fused/separate and hyphenated spelling, the choice of letters e/ ё, the use of lowercase or uppercase letters in compound words, as well as the discrepancies in choosing a grammatical gender of an oikonym are considered. The article describes the ways of standardising all the listed cases as well as spelling options used in the ‘Dictionary of Toponyms of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia): Settlements’ and suggests the options for their standardisation.