The Diversity of Genitive Forms of Singular Masculine Place Names

Abstract

This article is devoted to variant forms in the inflection of place names in Poland. I focus my attention on genitive forms of the singular masculine toponyms because it is mainly here that one can see clear variations in the inflection of place names. The basis for the research are historical source materials and contemporary records. Polish is an inflectional language characterized by frequent inflected variants. Over the centuries their frequency is periodically reduced, but the use of other variants also increases. However, they are still current in contemporary Polish. This article contains an analysis of gathered material and conclusions referring to repartition of genitive endings. Various criteria determine the choice of proper inflection in the case of toponyms. I chose the formal criterion. The ending of the root word often influences the choice of the genitive ending. The material shows that singular masculine place names (as well as common nouns) have genitive endings: -a and -u. The most alternations in the selection of the genitive ending are noted in the XVI–XVIII centuries. However, the ending -a is dominant, and also demonstrates a wider expansion in use with regards to the distribution of the endings -a, -u. Within the smaller number of criteria regulating the change of singular masculine toponyms, the inflection is quite regular, in comparison to common words. The appropriate declensional paradigm of a toponym influences the structure of a place name. The choice of inflection of a place name is not based on a semantic criterion — toponyms constitute a separate semantic class: place names. The semantic criterion is extremely important in the case of common nouns. In the case of singular masculine toponyms, the choice of the genitive form does not always depend on rules that apply to common nouns, but quite often inflection of common nouns influences the inflection of place names. However, diversity in the genitive form is characteristic of both common nouns and place names.