‘Microtoponymy’ as a key for geographical description. A case study in Catalonia, Spain

Abstract

The study of toponyms at the micro-scale – that is, microtoponymy – is of great interest for the geographer. Place names, generally speaking, provide us with a rich and diverse source of information about the geographical space (and, moreover, about the landscape: a key concept in the study and interpretation of this space). Within this framework, we argue that microtoponyms, considered in terms of their “spatial meaning”, can be, methodologically speaking, an excellent tool for geographers, historians and linguists (as well as other professionals) as they seek to provide a global understanding of the geographical space that we inhabit. Our paper is based on a recently conducted study in the comarca or district of Baix Camp, in the province of Tarragona (Catalonia, Spain). In this district, extending over an area of 695 km² and with a population of 192,000 inhabitants (2011), we have undertaken a geographical analysis of a total of 16,400 place names (in the main, microtoponyms). This study has enabled us to interpret the broad relationship between the comarca’s names, places and landscapes.