NATIONAL AND CULTURAL FEATURES OF THE TOPONYMIC SYSTEM IN NEW ZEALAND ENGLISH

This paper provides an overview of the toponyms of a relatively new variety of English, New Zealand English. One of the significant influences on the development of New Zealand English has been contact with the Maori language and with Maori cultural traditions. This is reflected in the presence of a large number of Maori words in common use in New Zealand English. The purpose is to analyze the place and role of place names as a source of information about the national culture of New Zealanders. The paper explores the national and cultural, historic, social, economic and political aspects of place naming in New Zealand. New Zealand has two official languages – Maori and English. This has posed challenges for what to show on modern maps, charts, signs and other official documents. Place-names are an important aspect of culture and identity as they provide a location where history, events, landscapes, relationships and people are remembered, celebrated and reinforced. New Zealand had names for all the natural features within their physical environment before European contact. Mountains, rivers, coastlines, beaches, fishing spots, forests and landscapes, battle sites, and places of events associated with the earliest explorers, featured as symbolic representations of indigenous spaces.

The article deals with structural, semantic, etymological and linguocultural features of toponymic nominations in New Zealand. It is shown that the choice of a toponym in New Zealand as a carrier of meaningful information is the result of the intertwining of many extralinguistic factors.