Terytorialna i kulturowa identyfikacja w krakowskich nazwach firmowych

Abstract

Subjects of a closer analysis in the paper are Cracovian names of firms that were intended to emphasise relationships between firms or institutions and the place of their activities and thus to contribute to their territorial and cultural identification. Name-formative foundations of the analysed firmonyms are as follows: the town name (Kraków/Cracow), names of quarters and housing estates, names of streets, rivers and other stably spatially situated objects like monuments (Wawel), gates, turnpikes, forts, mounds, tenements etc. Considering specificity of Cracow and its role in the world’s cultural heritage some toponyms – keeping individual identification – have much wider (national or even universal) range. Names of firms derived from such toponyms perform not only localization but also persuasive function that arouses positive feelings connected with well-known and admired town. They also perform commemorative function fixing old, not being used any more names of quarters or reminding places that are historically important for the town. The function of firmonyms derived from names of streets, objects that are only locally known, is to arouse feelings of familiarity and intimacy.