|
|
|||
|
||||
OverviewPlacenames reveal how particular cultures perceive and classify their environments: what they see as significant - economically, religiously, and so forth - about how they differentiate particular places from space in general. In addition to comprising a distinct semantic domain, to the extent that the reasons for their individual existences can be discovered, placenames may also convey important information concerning cultural beliefs and values, folklore, ethnography, economics, and history. Placenames also function as mnemonic devices that may facilitate communication, travel, resource-finding, and mythological memory, and as such are highly charged linguistic symbols. Cultural geographer Stephen C. Jett has collected and analyzed over 250 Navajo placenames from Arizona's spectacular Canyon de Chelly system, discovering what they mean and why and identifying frequencies of allusions in these names as well as in the stories, mythical and historical, that involve these named places and imbue them with meaning. Comparisons are made with both Euroamerican placenaming practice - very different - and that of other North American Athapaskan-speakers - very similar. Here too, Professor Jett inventories the scores of trails that Navajos have built and used in the canyons and describes their physical features and uses. Full Product DetailsAuthor: Stephen C. Jett , Malcolm A Nelson , Elizabeth Hoffman NelsonPublisher: Peter Lang Publishing Inc Imprint: Peter Lang Publishing Inc Volume: 12 Weight: 0.390kg ISBN: 9780820442761ISBN 10: 0820442763 Pages: 254 Publication Date: 23 October 2001 Audience: Professional and scholarly , Professional & Vocational Format: Paperback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: In stock We have confirmation that this item is in stock with the supplier. It will be ordered in for you and dispatched immediately. Table of ContentsReviewsAuthor InformationThe Author: Stephen C. Jett is Professor of Geography and of Textiles and Clothing, University of California, Davis. He holds an A.B. in geology from Princeton University and a Ph.D. in geography from The Johns Hopkins University. His previous, co-authored books include Navajo Wildlands (1967), House of Three Turkeys (1977), and the award-winning Navajo Architecture (1981). Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |