A Contribution to the Toponymy of the Bay of Kotor

Abstract

This paper deals with the toponymy of place names in the Bay of Kotor, mainly of Romance origin. In determining the presence of foreign linguistic deposits in local toponymy, the paper will introduce readers to a significant period of Romanic-Slavic symbiosis. As a result of Romanic-Slavic symbiosis, the toponymic material has remained preserved in its original and modified forms. By modified, i.e., adapted form I refer to the adaptation of foreign infiltrators into local languages in the entire Adriatic area up to the present day. The present study addresses the identification of the onomastic material that predates the Venetian occupation of the Bay of Kotor, as well as its derivation and classification based on motivation. When processing toponyms, I carried out field research, consulted the works of scientists who had already dealt with the same or similar topics and used archival and library materials that can be found scattered in different parts of the Bay of Kotor.