In this volume the author set the aim to systematize the processes of change of settlement names, and describe each process in detail within this framework. This issue is one of the important in historical toponomastics because studying the changes of names can be of invaluable benefit to toponym typology as a whole as well. Studying changes can help estimate the chronological value of toponymic types and can contribute to a more reliable description of the linguistic and historical source value of settlement types.
Setting the time limits of the research was promptly determined by the fact that settlement names began to be regulated by the authorities in the late 18th century, a process thoroughly examined and described by András Mező (A magyar hivatalos helységnévadás [Official settlement name-giving in Hungary]. Budapest, 1982), therefore it is expedient to survey spontaneous toponymic changes from the earliest documents to the second half of the 18th century. Within this time span of nearly eight centuries, the Old Hungarian era has the richest and most colorful repertoire of changes, that is why the author pays special attention to the name changes of this period.
Toponyms — similarly to common words — can be best described by defining the relationship between two components: name form and meaning. The regularity of changes in name forms can primarily be observed in the modification of the lexical-morphological (and, simultaneously, functional-semantic) structure, whereas semantic changes can be best seen in the modifications of the denotative meaning. The comprehensive typological system of the rules of change in settlement names are described according to these factors.
The work consists of five chapters, but in fact, it is divided into three extensive units. The first unit is theoretically motivated: it outlines a possible typological system for the change of toponyms, including settlement names; this model serves as a starting point for later discussion. The second basic unit incorporates three subchapters: in them, the author specifies, through an empirical study of the onomastic corpus, each particular change type, giving special attention to complex alterations to the names, as well as formal and semantic changes in them. In the comprehensive unit the author presents case studies that prove the applicability of the typology mentioned and detailed above by examining specific examples. These case studies may also answer the questions relating to the system of change of Hungarian settlement names. Some of them deal with theoretical issues (the sensitivity of names to change, the problems of settlement name-formants, the chronology and causes of the changes), while in others the author focuses on concrete changes (for example, a well-definable region of the Hungarian language territory with the –falva ‘village’ > -fa ‘village’ transformation that took place in the 16–17 th century), or different name types (settlement names with a patrociny).
Naturally, the onomastic corpus embraced by the study could not cover all the settlement names of the Hungarian language territory that emerged during the period of natural name-giving, but the author strove to describe each process of change detectable in different name types by making use of a rich material originating from different provinces and a name stock totally representative of a type.
By creating a theoretical framework for change typology, the author aimed to set up a model for historical linguistic and onomastic research in which the changes of Hungarian toponyms can be described in a homogeneous system by the application of identical aspects. The author also elaborated her views on issues of terminology that had emerged in the course of discussion, occasionally suggesting new solutions different from previous ones.