XXX Международный конгресс ИИСАА. 19–21 июня 2019 г. Т. 1

Секция IX 404 XXX Международный Конгресс по источниковедению и историографии стран Азии и Африки 2. Toponyms may have had an origin in the mediaeval Nubian language (Old Nubian), for example, Dibéeree . The element dib may have retained a mediaeval pronunciation even though the corresponding word in present-day Nobíin Nubian speech had become díffi ‘castle’. Toponyms often preserve an earlier pronunciation, for example, Stanbridge ‘stone bridge’ where stan for stone reflects the Old English pronunciation stān 1 . 3. Toponyms of uncertain etymology, for example, Ishkéed , which has no obvious etymology, but which conforms to Nubian phonology and is considered by its residents to be non-alien. 4. Even toponyms which were clearly Arabic, could be accepted as non-alien, for example, a place named for Shéeh Gurnéen 2 , who played an important role in the religious life of the local inhabitants until this ‘Muslim Shéeh’ was revealed by an archaeologist to have been a mediaeval Christian bishop. 5. Even Arabic names 3 , perceived not to have been very old, but acknowledged to have a major position in the social life of the local people, could be accepted as non-alien, for example, Wadi Hálfa 4 . The epithet Halfáwi has even become a term indicating the ethnic identity of an inhabitant of that region 5 . Sabbar considered the toponyms in each of these five categories to be non-alien. Even the last two examples that were clearly of Arabic origin were not considered to be exonyms. They had been domesticated. He insisted that Nubian could be written and pronounced according to its historic phonology, as it was prior to the borrowing of distinctive sounds from Arabic. He preferred that his own name be written as Sabbar rather than Ṣabbār. This is the spelling generally adopted in the present study, although in a few cases, when greater precision is desirable, a fuller Arabic transliteration has been adopted. According to Sabbar, when a language of the home is endangered, toponymy is endangered and there is a negative impact on personal identity. Endangered languages are numerous. From the viewpoint of the online UNESCO Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger almost half of the languages spoken on 1 Ekwall, E. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-names . 4 th edition. Oxford, Clarendon Press. P. 437. 2 The name of Shéeh Gurnéen been spelt here according to its Nubian pronunciation rather than its Arabic etymology. 3 Wadi refers to a valley for a seasonal stream. Hálfa refers to the esparto grass that was found growing there. 4 The town name presents Wadi Hálfa as it is pronounced in Nubian speech with /á/ marking Nubian high tone. Sabbar decided to present the name as Wadi Hálfa as it may be heard in Nubian speech rather Wādī Ḥalfā as it may be heard in Arabic. 5 Bell, H. Nubian Perceptions of Exonyms and Endonyms, in Woodman, P. (ed.), The Great Toponymic Divide. Reflections on the definition and usage of endonyms and exonyms. Proceedings of the 12 th UNGEGNWorking Group on Exonyms Meeting Gdańsk, 16–18 May 2012. Warsaw, 2012. P. 100 f.