Place-Names of the Carloway Registry, Isle of Lewis

Cox, Richard Anthony Victor (1987) Place-Names of the Carloway Registry, Isle of Lewis. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

This work is an analysis of the Gaelic place-nomenclature of the Carloway Registry, an area of about 150 square kilometers on the west coast of the Island of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. Intensive research in the field has produced nearly 3000 names, and these are dealt with individually in a gazetteer of the place-names (Volume 2) covering pronunciation, documentation and location, as well as questions of meaning and derivation. A description of various aspects of the Carloway Registry (topographic, economic, linguistic etc. ) is given in the Introduction (Volume 1, section 1) defining the nature of the area from which the names are drawn. The remaining sections of Volume 1 form an analysis of the nomenclature as a whole, in terms of structure, form, lexis and chronology. Sections 2-5 deal primarily with name-structure (prefaced by a discussion on questions of the origin and function of place-names); here the important distinctions between syntactical, onomastic and semantic treatments are observed. Consequent upon this detailed examination of name-structure, a clear picture of the development of the nomenclature is achieved. Sections 6-9 contribute to a description of the forms of names, studying patterns of stress, aspects of morphology, the use of prepositions with names, and certain phonetic phenomena characteristic of the nomenclature. Section 10 deals with the Old Norse reconstructed names in terms of structure and the phonological development from Old Norse to Gaelic. Section 11 analyses the Gaelic onomasticon, classifying elements identified in the nomenclature. Here, from sub-sections on natural features, flora and fauna, anthroponymy, settlement, cultivation, trades, law, custom etc. , a profile is built up of the physical characteristics of the area and of the nature and activities of the community there. Section 12 looks at the non-Gaelic element in the nomenclature, assessing Pictish, English and Norse influence through classification of loan-words and loan-names. Finally, section 13 deals with the question of chronology. The difficulties inherent in dating place-names mean that few names are treated individually here, but by drawing both upon the results of foregoing analysis and upon some external sources a broad chronology is developed both for Gaelic name-structures and for Norse settlement in the area.

• Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Keywords: Geography
• Date of Award: 1987
• Depositing User: Enlighten Team
• Unique ID: glathesis:1987-77502
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 14 Jan 2020 11:53
• Last Modified: 14 Jan 2020 11:53
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/77502