LINGUOCULTURAL ANALYSIS OF TOPONYMS AND DEMONYMS IN BOLIVIAN SPANISH

The present article analyses the complex system of toponyms and demonyms in Bolivian Spanish. The author describes etymology of toponyms from the department of Potosí by providing the explanation of their morphological structure and connections with local indigenous languages, such as quechua and aymara. Furthermore, special attention is paid to the formation of demonyms via suffixation, as the author offers the table with the analyzed examples and singles out the most expanded suffixes, as well as those that are rarely used. The results have shown that the suffix “-eño” has the leading position, therefore it can be considered the most productive one in Bolivia. The article also analyzes Bolivian toponymic nicknames.

demonyms, Spanish, Bolivian Spanish, toponymy, linguistic geography, linguistic analysis, suffixes