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HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT #8

ENGL 4301:001 Spring 1998

Due Tues 14 April

Inductive toponomy:

Get a map of Texas--the more detail, the better. You want a contemporary map (1998) that shows place names in as fine detail as possible.

Start by identifying types of place names according to language of origin. The main sources of place names are obviously Spanish and English, and there may well be hybrids of Spanish and English. There may also be names from Native languages, from German, from French, and from other languages.

Draw lines on a map of Texas--not necessarily your source map, a bare outline is OK--that attempt to account for patterns of settlement according to place name origin frequencies.

Write a brief essay accounting for the patterns you observe. If you can, note strange place names and try to do some research on their origins.