Toponimia bribri

Abstract

This paper analyzes Bribri toponymy from the point of view of a model proposed by the author, that of the culturally provided proper noun assignation alternatives. It characterizes the different classes of toponyms recognized by the Bribri and the importance of each in the system. It describes the types of relations with both environment and culture shown by the toponyms belonging to each class (including the subject of the degree of semantic trasparency), and the grammatical patterns by means of which they are formed (with remarks on their productivity).