PREFACE

CONTENTS 

17. Aghali-Zakara, M. “Onomastique africaine: normalisation des noms geographiques touaregs en zone sahelo-saharienne”. Actas do XX congreso internacional de ciencias onomasticas. Santiago de Compostela: Institudo da Lingua Galega, 1999. [Bibliography]

Tuareg is a Berber languages spoken in Algeria, Libya, Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso. The author of this article describes how Tuareg place names are mispelled in the current linguistic notation. One source of this serious problem is the language contact between Tuareg and other local languages as well as foreign languages such as Arabic and French. Another source is the lack of expertise on the part of language policy makers and map makers. One of the consequences of this faulty notation is the regrettable loss of the social value of Tuareg names. The author calls for a better notation, which he explains requires a political will on the part of the different ministries involved, and an interdisciplinary collaboration between experts such as linguists, geographers and cartographers. The article is of interest to linguists, sociolinguists, language policy makers, and those who need information on Berber culture.

18. Basset, A. “Sur la toponymie berbere et spécialement sur la toponymie des Ait Frah.” Onomastica 2, no. 2 (1948): 123-6.

This is an informative report on the state of French studies on Berber toponymy. The author begins his report with some critical remarks on the sources of information available on the topic. He then complements his critical evaluation with a useful description of what is being done to improve the quality of the studies of Maghrebian toponymy, including his own contribution. He finally underscores and explains two types of difficulties researchers encounter in this domain. The first type is the high number of different dialectical variants of Berber toponyms. The second type is related to the cultural policy of Arabicization of Maghrebian toponyms and comprises two situations: the situation where Arab toponyms invade Berber toponymy, and the situation where Berber names are Arabicized. Both cases present the European scholars with daunting morphological and orthographic problems which affect the semantic and etymological study of Berber toponymy.

19. ----------. “Du nouveau à propos du nom de l’Ile de Fer (Canaries).” Onomastica 2, no. 2 (1948): 121-2.

Basset’s text is a critical review of M. Marcy’s article entitled “L’origine du nom de l’île de Fer.” In this article Marcy dedicates a section to the study of the origin of the Canary islands, also called l’île de Fer (Iron islands). Basset detects two flaws in Marcy’s study. He terms them flaws in argumentation and methodology . According to the author, Marcy has committed an argumentation flaw by thinking that the different spellings of the origin of the toponyms recorded in other researchers’ works represent different dialects on the islands. The second flaw is committed, according to Basset, when Marcy tries to support his argument about the onomastic reality of one ethnic group of the island by using facts about another ethnic group. Basset thus demonstrates how the complex interplay between observations and methodological decisions can determine the validity or invalidity of our onomastic knowledge.

20. Bechhaus-Gehrst, Marianne. “A Study of Beja Place-names.” Afrikanische Arbeitspapiere 61 (2000). [Bibliography ; map]

Bechhaus-Gehrst’s well-researched article is part of her larger project whose philosophical aim is to provide a thematization of the fact that, as she puts it, “toponyms constitute an integral part of the conceptualization of the landscape and often testify to the way people orient themselves in space”. But in this initial piece the author confines herself to laying out the linguistic foundations of Beja place names. Because the Beja are relatively unknown, she starts her article with a description of their geographical settings and their socio-cultural conditions. The remainder of the article is a detailed analysis of the toponymic pattern of Beja place names and a critical evaluation and editing of the list of Beja toponyms compiled by C.H. Thompson between 1914 and 1984. The author’s own study is based on this Beja nomenclature.

21. Cheriguen, Foudil. “Nommer pour exister: de l’ethnonyme comme enjeu politique.” Mots 57 (1998): 29-37. [Notes ; summary in French, English, and Spanish]

Cheriguen’s text presents itself as a contribution to the reflection on the Algerian identity crisis which began in the early years of the country’s independence. The author situates the roots of this crisis in the anti-democratic and divisive ethnonymic practice in which the Algerian ruling class engages. On the one hand they repress local ethnonyms such as Berber by concealing their historical origins. On the other hand they hail all Algerian citizens into a reductive identity through an unpopular cultural program of Arabicization. But beyond the Algerian crisis this article is a reflection on the political practice of naming, i.e. on naming as a performative act whereby the namer exercises the exorbitant power of assigning and or reassigning identities through an undemocratic and manipulative use of ethnonyms.

22. -----------. “Barbaros ou Amazigh: ethnonyms et histoire politique en Afrique du Nord.” Mots 15 (1987): 7-21. [Bibliography ; notes]

“Barbaros ou Amazigh…” is a fine analysis of the intricate relationships between the linguistic, cultural and political facets of North African ethnonymy. In the first part of his article, Cheriguen underlines the fact that most North African ethnonyms are from foreign origin, imposed on the Maghreb population by the different civilizations which have dominated the region, notably the Greek, Latin, Arabic and French civilizations. This process of acculturation was facilitated by the disadvantaged conditions in which the local languages found themselves: there was no written tradition in North Africa and the population was living in rural areas. Coupled with this weakness of local cultures was also the political will of the foreign powers to impose their languages. Despite these conditions of cultural repression some ethnonyms such as Berber declined without disappearing all together, which attests to the long resistance of the local ethnic groups to the process of acculturation. The author criticizes today’s ruling class for continuing the same hegemonic dominance through a systematic repression of the revival of this historical resistance and the imposition of Arabic identity on all Algerians.

23. Desanges, J. “Lybiens noirs ou Lybiens noircis?” In L’homme méditerranéen: m élanges offerts à Gabriel Camps, Professeur emerité de l’Université de Provence, edited by Robert Chenorkian. Aix-en-Provence: Publications de l’Université de Provence, 1995.

Desanges’ article is a condensed review of the abundant literature on the ethnonym Lybyans, a literature that expands over five centuries. The ethnonym which means “burnt faces” is of Greek origin and was devised by authors from Greco-Roman antiquity to designate people with dark complexion who live in North Africa. One important issue raised by those authors is whether the Greco-Romans were an ethnocentric people. At the end of this subtle and somewhat restrained review, Desanges admits the Greco-Roman authors did tap into their own prejudices when looking at people outside their own society, but he warns against a sweeping generalization of an entire people as ethnocentrist.

24. El Fassi, Mohamed. “Toponymy and Ethnonymy as Scientific Aids to History.” In African Ethnonyms and Toponyms: Report and Papers of the Meeting of Experts, 18-22. Paris: UNESCO, 1984.

The central idea of this article is that toponymy and ethnonymy can be of great help to history due to the fact that toponyms, and to a lesser degree ethnonyms, seldom change. The author illustrates his statement by making brief remarks on the Maghrebian region and providing a list of Berber toponyms from Morocco with their origin and their ethymology. The article ends with two tables: the first contains a list of Arabic or Berber names and their corresponding corrupt forms, and the second lists four localities whose names were changed by the French but were restored after independence. The article contains neither notes nor a bibliography.

25. Felipe, Helena de. “Berbers in the Maghreb and al-Andalus: Settlements and Toponymy.” The Maghreb Review 18, nos. 1-2 (1993): 57-62.

The underlying thesis of this short article is that the geographic distribution of place names tells us a lot about the distribution of settlements and their original ethnic and social identity. Relying almost exclusively on Al Bakr’s important writings, the author arrived at the above thesis by comparing Berber settlements between the 8th and the 10th centuries in the Maghreb region and in al-Andalus, the two sides of the Straits of Gibraltar. This comparison leads her to important conclusions on the impact of socio-political structures on ethnic identity and onomastic idiosyncracy. Her study shows for instance that the Berber groups which were integrated into urban settlements gradually lost their onomastic idiosyncrasy whereas the ethnic factor played a more important and durable role among groups living outside urban areas.

26.Galand, M. Lionel. “Afrique du Nord et Sahara.” Revue internationale d’onomastique 4 (1960): 293-308. [Notes]

This rich text provides the reader with indirect sources of information on North African onomastics, particularly on ethnonyms and toponyms. Galland renders us this invaluable service by way of informative and critical comments on works whose main purpose is not onomastic but historical, ethnological or comparative. The author has divided his abstracting investigation into two parts: North Africa in antiquity, and Islamic North Africa. The article does not include a bibliography but abundant inter-textual citations along with a few footnotes and a list of authors cited.

27. Kalouche, Rabah. “La dénomination/redénomination: un lieu de conflit identaire”. In Noms et re-noms: la dénomination des personnes, des populations, des langues et des territoires, edited by Salih Akin, 183-8. Rouen: Publications de l’Université de Rouen, 1999.

Kalouche uses the context of toponymic changes in Algeria to show how the phenomenon of nomination/de-nomination constitutes a locus of self-affirmation for the dominant power. The French who colonized Algeria had bestowed French names on places that had Arab names prior to their arrival. In some instances their ideological preference for the Berber culture had led them to Berberize some Arabic names. Kalouche explains that, upon obtaining their independence, the Algerian class in power undertook a radical restoration of Arabic names. Furthermore, as a backlash against French and Berber influences, they started Arabicizing many Berber toponyms.

28. Maugenest, J. “Transcription des noms indigenes sur les cartes d’Afrique du Nord.” Onomastica 2, no. 2 (1948): 147-151.

Maugenest’s article tells about the difficulty of producing maps for Arabic countries in French. The main problem is that there are many symbols in Arabic and Berber which do not have French equivalents. An alphabetical transcription could help with some of these symbols, but there is the further problem of spelling which varies according to the region where the language is spoken. This situation has raised a lot of discussions and debate among the French and other European researchers about how to make maps for Arabic speaking countries. The author notes that since Napoleon demanded a standardization of North African languages, the succession of rules and counter-rules have done little to solve the problem.

29. Pellegrin, A. Essai sur les noms de lieux d’Algérie et de Tunisie: etymology, signification. Tunis: Editions S. A. P. I., 1949. 241 p.

Pellegrin’s essay is a comparative study of Algerian and Tunisian toponymies. The author stresses in his introduction the intricate relationships between geography and history and proceeds to give a highly informative description of the geography and history of both countries. He shows, for instance, the historic influence of the successive civilizations which have shaped the complex contour of the Maghreb culture. Libyans, Phoenicians, Latins, Greeks, Arabs, Turks, and French have all left their indelible marks on North African toponymy. The author ends his introduction with an exposition of his comparative method and a brief description of the documents used. The remainder of the book is a concrete application of this method on the toponymy of both countries. Despite its date of publication, Pellegrin’s book remains a rare and invaluable source on Maghreb toponymy.

30. Picard, Andre. “Complément à la toponymie berbère.” Onomastica 2, no. 2 (1948): 127-132. [Maps]

Picard illustrates in this article the effective use of topographic maps in toponymic studies. The article begins like a reconnaissance trip on an airplane from which a geographer points out various places in Algeria and maps them with names. But the analogy ends there, for Picard uses several maps of Algeria dating from different time periods. This allows him to show the changes in toponymy, including morphological and dialectical changes, and to explain the etymological meaning of the toponyms as well as the population movement which the geographic and ethnological distributions of these names imply.

31.Vycichl, W. “‘Augila’: Studien zur Nordafricanischen Toponymie.” L’onomastique latine. Paris: Edition du Centre national de la recherche scientifique, 1977.

Augila is a toponym designating a famous oasis located in Libya. In this short article, Vycichl undertakes an etymological and grammatical study of this place name which originated in a text by Herodotus. One of the pivotal questions the author struggles with concerns the morphosyntactical structure of the word Augila. Indeed, the author claims that the word is a plural neutral which, as such, does not exist in Berber language nor in Egyptian. His explanatory hypothesis is that the word is a contraction of two forms: Au which is the remaining part of a longer form marking a collective noun, and Gila, which is a name. Vycichl offers an ingenious reconstruction of the toponym Augila that makes some etymological sense. Beyond the etymological and morphosyntactical information derived fom this focused study, it is on the Greek origin of the overall North African toponymy that the author sheds new light.