Toponymic knowledge infrastructures in five-state Middle Asia: linguistic transformation, manuscript cartography, and historical-geographical reconstruction.
6 affiliations
- 1Department of Kazakh Philology, Faculty of Philology and Sports, Sh. Yessenov Caspian University of Technologies and Engineering, Aktau, Kazakhstan.
- 2Department of Pedagogy, Faculty of Pedagogy, Yessenov University, Aktau, Kazakhstan.
- 3Department of Archaeology and Ethnology, L. N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, Astana, Kazakhstan.
- 4Department of Oriental Studies, L. N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, Astana, Kazakhstan.
- 5Department of Kazakh Linguistics, Faculty of Philology, L. N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, Astana, Kazakhstan.
- 6Department of Environmental Engineering and Management, The University of Dodoma, Dodoma, Tanzania.
Abstract
Toponymic records embedded in Arabic, Persian, and Chinese manuscript traditions provide evidence for reconstructing the historical geographies of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. This review uses a structured narrative and conceptual-synthesis methodology to compare place-name transmission across languages, scripts, manuscript genres, and political regimes. A diachronic framework separates pre-Islamic external attestations, medieval Arabic-Persian documentation, early-modern cartography, imperial and Soviet standardisation, and post-Soviet renaming rather than treating linguistic layers as synchronous. Direct evidence from the five-state core is distinguished from supporting evidence from neighbouring transmission corridors and comparative regions. Micro-cases of Koneurgenish/Gurganj, Dargan/Dargan-Ata, hydronymic compounds, and political renaming are combined with explicit cross-script harmonisation rules and spatial-chronological triangulation. Toponymy is operationalised as a sociopolitical knowledge infrastructure when names function as repeatable identifiers linking routes, jurisdictions, administrative records, gazetteers, and maps. Digital approaches extend this framework through georeferenced historical gazetteers, variant-name alignment, route modelling, and confidence-ranked reconstruction. Reliable interpretation depends on preserving source provenance, separating transliteration from phonological reconstruction, and distinguishing linguistic change from administrative replacement.
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BibTeX
@article{nurdauletova2026toponymic,
title = {{Toponymic knowledge infrastructures in five-state Middle Asia: linguistic transformation, manuscript cartography, and historical-geographical reconstruction.}},
author = {Bibaisha Iliasovna Nurdauletova and Sholpan Saparbaikyzy and Zhambyl Omarovish Artykbaev and Tursynkhan Zakonuly Kairken and Saltanat Spatayeva and Elizabeth Shilunga},
journal = {Frontiers in sociology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fsoc.2026.1876337},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42953384},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Toponymic knowledge infrastructures in five-state Middle Asia: linguistic transformation, manuscript cartography, and historical-geographical reconstruction.
AU - Bibaisha Iliasovna Nurdauletova
AU - Sholpan Saparbaikyzy
AU - Zhambyl Omarovish Artykbaev
AU - Tursynkhan Zakonuly Kairken
AU - Saltanat Spatayeva
AU - Elizabeth Shilunga
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/14
JO - Frontiers in sociology
DO - 10.3389/fsoc.2026.1876337
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42953384
AB - Toponymic records embedded in Arabic, Persian, and Chinese manuscript traditions provide evidence for reconstructing the historical geographies of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. This review uses a structured narrative and conceptual-synthesis methodology to compare place-name transmission across languages, scripts, manuscript genres, and political regimes. A diachronic framework separates pre-Islamic external attestations, medieval Arabic-Persian documentation, early-modern cartography, imperial and Soviet standardisation, and post-Soviet renaming rather than treating linguistic layers as synchronous. Direct evidence from the five-state core is distinguished from supporting evidence from neighbouring transmission corridors and comparative regions. Micro-cases of Koneurgenish/Gurganj, Dargan/Dargan-Ata, hydronymic compounds, and political renaming are combined with explicit cross-script harmonisation rules and spatial-chronological triangulation. Toponymy is operationalised as a sociopolitical knowledge infrastructure when names function as repeatable identifiers linking routes, jurisdictions, administrative records, gazetteers, and maps. Digital approaches extend this framework through georeferenced historical gazetteers, variant-name alignment, route modelling, and confidence-ranked reconstruction. Reliable interpretation depends on preserving source provenance, separating transliteration from phonological reconstruction, and distinguishing linguistic change from administrative replacement.
SN - 2297-7775
ER -