Toponymic Database Documentation

Overview

This database is designed to systematically store, analyze and eventually visualize historical and contemporary toponyms (place names) with a structured approach, focusing on spatial, linguistic, and temporal aspects. The structure consists of three interlinked tables:

1. Spatial Table - Stores geographical locations and metadata.
2. Linguistic Table - Captures toponyms, their various variants and linguistic attributes like pronunciation and etymology.
3. Temporal Table - Documents historical changes in toponyms over time.

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1. Spatial Table

Purpose:

The spatial table contains unique geographic entities, their locations, and relevant metadata.

Columns:

• ID (int, PK): Unique identifier for each geographic object. In the very beginning the order followed an original alphabetically sorted table, 2023_jun_14_dubanov_toponymy, based on a book (Дубанов И.С. «Топонимический словарь Чувашии. Географические названия и термины») order, now it is basically free.
• LAT, LON (float, nullable): Estimated geographic coordinates derived from historical and modern maps (see http://www.etomesto.ru/ , https://retromap.ru/ and various other resources).
• OFFNAME (string): The most "official" available name for the location (either current or historical).
• LANG (string): The language of the name, using codes such as RUS, CHU, HIM, MEM, ERZ, TAT, UNK.
• CLASS (string, nullable): Specifies the toponymic category, e.g., oikonym (settlement), hydronym (water body), dromonym (road), etc.
• TYPE (string, nullable): Specifies the sub-category, e.g., village, city (for oikonyms), river, stream (for hydronyms), etc.
• DISTRICT (string, nullable): Modern administrative district (e.g., to differentiate places with the same name).
• DOUBT (int, nullable): Certainty level of assigned coordinates (empty = "I'm sure", 1 = "The coordinates are doubtful").
• LANDMARK (text, nullable): Relevant for microtoponyms; describes nearby visible features to help locate the object.
• COMMENTS (text, nullable): Free-text notes for human workers.
• OTHER (text, nullable): Reserved for future use.

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2. Linguistic Table

Purpose:

The linguistic table stores different names (and their variants) of the same geographic object across different languages and sources, etymological information and other linguistic metadata.

Columns:

• ID (int, PK): Unique identifier for each toponym entry, independent from the spatial table.
• SPATID (int, FK → Spatial.ID): Links the toponym to its corresponding spatial object.
• DOUSPAT (int, nullable): Certainty of name relation to the spatial object (empty = "I'm sure", 1 = "The spatial link is doubtful").
• MAINID (int, FK → Linguistic.ID): Represents the "main" name in a "nest" of interconnected toponyms (sometimes grouping is necessary, many sources give several somehow connected names for a single spatial object and we want to reflect this connections in database).
• TOPONYM (string): The attested name as recorded from sources.
• TOPFORMS (text, nullable): Holds different attested spelling variations (must contain the same language text info as the TOPONYM field) of the name from multiple sources and free text comments of database workers.
• DOUTOPO (int, nullable): Certainty of the given TOPONYM form, not of the TOPFORMS, only of the TOPONYM column (empty = "I'm sure", 1 = "It is doubtful").
• LANG (string): The language of the toponym, following the predefined codes.
• DOULANG (int, nullable): Certainty of the language of the toponym (empty = "I'm sure", 1 = "It is doubtful").
• PRONUNC (text, nullable): Reserved for pronunciation information (format yet to be decided).
• DOUPRON (int, nullable): Certainty of the pronunciation information (empty = "I'm sure", 1 = "It is doubtful").
• ETYM (text, nullable): Etymological explanation of the name's origin. It is always doubtful.
• ORIGIN (string, nullable): Language from which the name originated (e.g., CHU, RUS, TAT, OTH, UNK). This one is always doubtful too.
• COMMENTS (text, nullable): Free-text notes.
• OTHER (text, nullable): Reserved for future use.

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3. Temporal Table

Purpose:

This table records historical changes in toponyms, tracking their usage over time.

Columns:

• ID (int, PK): Unique identifier for each temporal record.
• LINGID, LINGNAME (Composite FK → Linguistic (ID, TOPONYM)): Together, these fields reference a specific toponym in the linguistic table.
• START (int): Earliest recorded use of the name (the year of first mention according to some source: book or map or something else), full source text goes to FULLTEXT column.
• DOUSTART (int, nullable): Certainty level for the START date (empty = "I'm sure", 1 = "It is doubtful").
• END (int, nullable): The last recorded use of the name. If the object still exists, this field remains empty. The source text is stored in the FULLTEXT column.
• DOUEND (int, nullable): Certainty level for the END date (empty = "I'm sure", 1 = "It is doubtful").
• EVENT (string): Categorization of historical change, with predefined values:
  • MERGEIN: The object was absorbed into another.
  • ACTIVE: The name is still in use.
  • RENAME: The object was renamed.
  • CEASE: The object ceased to exist.
• OBJID (int, nullable), OBJNAME (text, nullable): Context-dependent:
  • ACTIVE: Both empty.
  • RENAME: Stores the information about the new name of the object, it is a reference to Linguistic (ID, TOPONYM).
  • MERGEIN: Stores the information about the absorbing object, again, it is a reference to Linguistic (ID, TOPONYM).
  • CEASE: Both empty.
• COMMENTS (text, nullable): Free-text notes.
• OTHER (text, nullable): Reserved for future use.
• FULLTEXT (text): A complete textual description of the historical event, providing transparency by explicitly referencing the relevant source(s), for instance, the Source ID (see 4. Sources Table) along with page numbers or other identifying details when applicable.

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4. Sources Table

Purpose:

This table consolidates bibliographic or archival references that substantiate historical information in the 3. Temporal Table. Each entry describes a single source, such as a book, article, map, or manuscript. Linking these sources to Temporal ensures that statements like “this settlement was called so-and-so from year X to year Y” can be properly backed by historical documentation.

Columns:

• ID (string, PK): Unique identifier for each source.
• TYPE (string): The type of source (e.g., BOOK, ARTICLE, MAP, ARCHIVE, WEB).
• AUTHOR (string, nullable): Author(s) or compiler(s).
• TITLE (text): Title of the source (book name, article title, map reference, etc.).
• YEAR (int, nullable): Publication or creation year of the source.
• PUBLISHER (string, nullable): Publisher or institution name, if applicable.
• CITATION (text, nullable): Full bibliographic reference or archival notation (e.g., “И. С. Дубанов, 2020, ...”).
• COMMENTS (text, nullable): Additional remarks or clarifications about the source.
• PDF (string, nullable): Is PDF file accessible somewhere? It is simply "yes" or "no".
• OTHER (text, nullable): Reserved for future use.

Usage & Relationship with Temporal Table:

• Each record in the Temporal table can link to one or more Sources to document the basis for historical data through free text in the FULLTEXT field.

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Relationships and Interactions

• SPATID (Linguistic) → ID (Spatial): Links toponyms to geographic locations.
• LINGID (Temporal) → ID (Linguistic) and LINGNAME (Temporal) → TOPONYM (Linguistic): Tracks historical changes of a specific name.
• OBJID (Temporal) → ID (Linguistic) and OBJNAME (Temporal) → TOPONYM (Linguistic): Records specifically name changes or mergers.

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Next Steps

• Finalize the format for the PRONUNC field.

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Various

• Comment fields. It is assumed (in order to clarify the workflow for specific fields in the database and to more quickly achieve understanding between workers) that comments are filled in a standardized way. First, the employee puts (if there is a previous comment, then first a space, a vertical bar, another space) the three-letter code assigned to him/her, as a rule, based on his/her full name (surname, name, patronymic), then a colon, then a space, and after this prefix -- the actual text of the comment. Example: "SMY: в 27 км от райцентра, в лесах на правом берегу Суры, ныне не существует | IRI: На карте 1985 г. с retromap.ru это кордон Келейный, через реку от урочища Монашеское с более современных карт, примерно в месте впадения р. Чернушки в р. Бездну"