Island Words, Island Worlds: The Origins and Meanings of Words for ‘Islands’ in North-West Europe
This paper proposes the notion that words mirror ideas, perspectives and world views. Etymologies and meanings of general words for ‘islands’ in a number of languages in North and West Europe are then discussed. Here, islands are shown to be etymologically constituted by the interplay between land a...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Island Studies Journal
2009-11-01
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| Series: | Island Studies Journal |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.24043/isj.233 |
| _version_ | 1827117806410268672 |
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| author | Owe Ronström |
| author_facet | Owe Ronström |
| author_sort | Owe Ronström |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper proposes the notion that words mirror ideas, perspectives and world views. Etymologies and meanings of general words for ‘islands’ in a number of languages in North and West Europe are then discussed. Here, islands are shown to be etymologically constituted by the interplay between land and water, and which of these two is emphasized varies. In the third section, a number of Swedish island words are surveyed, in an attempt to illuminate the principle of linguistic relativity. Finally, the implications of these findings for island studies are discussed. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T04:45:19Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4e895baf4de14ed4ba23eaa844d492e0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1715-2593 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-03-20T12:55:25Z |
| publishDate | 2009-11-01 |
| publisher | Island Studies Journal |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Island Studies Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-4e895baf4de14ed4ba23eaa844d492e02024-09-12T22:53:57ZengIsland Studies JournalIsland Studies Journal1715-25932009-11-0142Island Words, Island Worlds: The Origins and Meanings of Words for ‘Islands’ in North-West EuropeOwe RonströmThis paper proposes the notion that words mirror ideas, perspectives and world views. Etymologies and meanings of general words for ‘islands’ in a number of languages in North and West Europe are then discussed. Here, islands are shown to be etymologically constituted by the interplay between land and water, and which of these two is emphasized varies. In the third section, a number of Swedish island words are surveyed, in an attempt to illuminate the principle of linguistic relativity. Finally, the implications of these findings for island studies are discussed.https://doi.org/10.24043/isj.233 |
| spellingShingle | Owe Ronström Island Words, Island Worlds: The Origins and Meanings of Words for ‘Islands’ in North-West Europe Island Studies Journal |
| title | Island Words, Island Worlds: The Origins and Meanings of Words for ‘Islands’ in North-West Europe |
| title_full | Island Words, Island Worlds: The Origins and Meanings of Words for ‘Islands’ in North-West Europe |
| title_fullStr | Island Words, Island Worlds: The Origins and Meanings of Words for ‘Islands’ in North-West Europe |
| title_full_unstemmed | Island Words, Island Worlds: The Origins and Meanings of Words for ‘Islands’ in North-West Europe |
| title_short | Island Words, Island Worlds: The Origins and Meanings of Words for ‘Islands’ in North-West Europe |
| title_sort | island words island worlds the origins and meanings of words for islands in north west europe |
| url | https://doi.org/10.24043/isj.233 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT oweronstrom islandwordsislandworldstheoriginsandmeaningsofwordsforislandsinnorthwesteurope |