Stedsnavn i Tirol: endonymiprinsippets utfordringer i møtet med språklig og toponymisk mangfold

Abstract

Toponyms of Tyrol – how to apply the endonymic principle in a highly diverse namescape

Toponyms of Tyrol – how to apply the endonymic principle in ahighly diverse namescapeTyrol has an extraordinary diversity of toponyms, which is due tothe various languages that have been and are spoken in this moun -tainous area. After presenting the «namescape» of Tyrol (NorthTyrol, East Tyrol, South Tyrol and Trentino), the article addressesthe challenges that the toponymy of Tyrol poses for the official Nor-wegian spelling norm and identifies two problems. First, the spel-ling of the landscape itself («Tyrol») is incompatible with the en-donymic principle (which demands «Tirol»). Second, mosttoponyms of South Tyrol are currently normalised in their Italianforms. However, the endonymic principle suggests that the normshould allow all forms that are locally well-established. A coherentalternative to the current Norwegian spelling norm is suggested.Further recommendations are given regarding the Norwegian spel-ling of Tyrolean toponyms that are not covered by the official norm.