Familiennamenatlas der Deutschschweiz (FDS). Mit Ausblicken auf die romanischen Sprachgebiete

Overview & Synopsis

This three-volume atlas offers, for the first time, a comprehensive presentation and analysis of the diverse surnames of German-speaking Switzerland. In 110 thematic articles, it systematically examines grammar, lexicon and naming motifs, thereby shedding light on the language and culture of both the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period. It demonstrates how surnames oscillate between dialect and standard language, develop their own structures and thus provide unique insights into the history of the language. An innovative mapping method reconstructs the geographical distribution of names across several historical periods, revealing both stability and migration patterns. In addition to German-language names, a selection of French, Italian and Romansh names is included. This clearly highlights both the language contact phenomena characteristic of Switzerland and the specific features of German-language names. With over 500 annotated maps, the atlas serves as a reference work for specialists in the fields of German studies, Romance studies, linguistics, dialectology, historical linguistics, onomastics and Swiss history. This second volume examines topics relating to morphology and syntax. These are divided into the areas of inflection, word formation, combinations with prepositions and/or articles, and combinations with verbal, nominal, adjectival or adverbial elements. Volumes I and III are devoted to the subject areas of orthography and phonology, and semantics, lexis and naming motifs respectively.