Toponyms: Italian identity enunciation and memory in the city of Cascavel, Paraná State

Abstract

Onomastic studies, when integrated to lexicology, show that, through their given names, men express ideas and feelings, and convey values and discursive practices. By observing the community in the city of Cascavel, Paraná State, we noticed that the city’s Italian cultural context is reflected not only in ethnic movements and language courses, but also in the names of public, residential and commercial places. To analyze the names of some places in Cascavel in relation to ethnicity, we classified the nominal designation of public places through the website of the Municipal Government of Cascavel and additional information from other websites. Subsequently, the research was developed by identifying the names of Italian ethnicity and observing the taxonomy of toponyms in order to reflect upon the designations that somehow are related to Italian descendants.