A Study On The Language And Culture Of Place Name In Xinyang

This paper analyses and researches mainly from two aspects of language and culture, the placenames of administrative villages and above within in Xinyang region,,Henan province,which is the writer's hometown. Place name is a very special social language phenomenon and a kind of language symbol of the geographic entities and activity areas in society where people live.By researching and analysising the language surface layer of Xinyang placenames, we can discover their phonetic features, word-building form and rhetoric methods.Simalarly,it is not difficult to find the methods and basis of naming a place in Xinyang region, and is also quite convientent to analyse their historical evolution by researching and analysing geographical general name and proper noun of Xinyang placenames and their meanings.Besides, studying culture from language point of view is an important subject of cultural linguistics.As an important part of cultural vocabulary, placenames contains some important historical and humanistic clues, from which we can unearth many precious cultural characteristics of Xinyang region. Based on thorough investigation and wide resrarch for relative literature,this paper adopts many ways such as consulting the map method, induction & classification, statistics and comparative analysis and etc, combines dialect learned, geography, sociology, history and other disciplines on the basis of linguistics,at the same time,discusses the general characteristics of nearly 4,000 names of settlement districts within Xinyang region,and then further excavates, arranges and studies these placenames'phonetic features, words structures, naming types, diachronic evolution and cultural connotation. From two aspects of Synchronicity and diachronism,this article makes all-round, multi-level and multi-angled investigation into and analysis of historical documents on Xinyang. The results found shows that Xinyang placenames bassically keeps consistent with modern chinese placenames in the syllable structure,but two-syllable and three syllables places dominate,which reflects the economic and understandable principle of basic structure and language of modern place-names In level and oblique tones Well alternation and double (full) voiceless are routine forms. Xinyang placenames also has its own unique phonetic system,and mandarin Chinese has 21 initials and 39 finals in all,while respectively 20 and 33 in Xinyang dialect. In addition, the tone of Xinyang dialect and mandarin system also exist certain differences. The Word Formation of Xinyang placenames take proper nouns and general names for routine-especial words, including 114 general namesin total, most of which reflect the local landform features.However, the rules of naming a proper noun is relatively more complex.Cultural analysis of Xinyang placenames shows their cultural value in clan culture, religious belief, totem worship and moral concepts. Finally, the author also puts forward some beneficial reference and suggestions on the management and standardization of Xinyang placenames. In short, this paper is just a bold try took by the author, while studying Xinyang placenames with a strong local color from multi-angles and all-round aspects.Meanwhile, the author expects to deepen our understanding of the regional society from the angle of Xinyang placenames,and open a new window fan, which reveals more rich and colorful characteristics of Xinyang natural environment and social life,then contribute a bit to my hometown and research in modern toponymy.