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Articles

Vol. 7 No. 1 (2016)

Early-Modern European and Indigenous Linguistic Influences on New Brunswick Place Names

Submitted
October 7, 2016
Published
2016-10-05

Abstract

This article documents the emergence of the New Brunswick place names Miramichi, Musquash, and Shemogue in the early-modern period (1534–1800). Using early maps and travel narratives in which these places are noted by Europeans for the first time, it examines the orthographical variety for each place name and traces their development over the centuries, mapping the evolution and diffusion of these names in light of the linguistic influences exerted by Maliseet, Mi’kmaq, French, and English speakers, as well as the transition of a name from one language to another. The historical and linguistic findings from this research are then linked to their sociopolitical relevance in a contemporary context and a language-based system of toponymic classification is proposed.