Estudo da hidronímia dos principais afluentes do rio São Francisco

Abstract

Since ancient times, watercourses have played a pivotal role as routes for navigation, migration, and settlement, in addition to providing essential resources for human sustenance and development. Throughout this process of coexistence and adaptation, toponyms have been established, serving as references for these routes and reflecting the interaction between humans and their environment, as well as the construction of local cultural identities. Given their significance, this study aimed to systematize, describe, and analyze the names of the 46 main tributaries of the São Francisco River, investigating the factors that motivated the creation of these toponyms. A theoretical approach rooted in lexical studies was adopted, examining the relationship between language, culture, and society based on contributions from Sapir (1969), Saussure (2006), Biderman (1987, 2006, 2014), and Isquerdo (1997, 2014). In the field of toponymy, the study delved into the theories of Dauzat (1926), a pioneer in toponomastic studies, and Dick (1990, 1990a), a Brazilian authority known for her taxonomic models, alongside Seabra’s (2004) diachronic perspective, which analyzed the historical evolution of place names. The research confirmed the hypothesis that toponyms reflect naming processes tied to historical migratory routes and Brazil’s colonization context. Linguistic data were analyzed to understand the motivations, cultural contexts, and their relationship with Indigenous, African, and other immigrant identities. Furthermore, the toponyms were classified taxonomically, with data quantified and presented through graphs, charts, and tables. The analysis revealed that toponyms act as historical markers, projected by human consciousness onto the environment, persisting and expanding over time. It was also observed that toponyms function as collective memory, preserving human experiences and identities despite transformations in geographic space.