批判视角下广州地铁站命名与更名研究

Naming and Renaming: A Critical Study on Guangzhou Metro Stations

收集各类网站有关广州地铁站命名与更名争议的素材,通过文本分析方法进行解读,指出地方命名过程中涉及的商业、政治和文化因素共同指向命名权这一核心。中国社会群体通常采取非抵抗式的网络话语来参与地方命名过程,尽管争取到一定话语权,但地方的最终命名仍很大程度上取决于相关权力机构。

Based on the perspective of etymology and taxonomy, studies on traditional place names or topony- my usually adopt the descriptive method to explore the origin, classification, dissemination and diffusion of specific place names. However, in social reality, place names are usually dominated by the authority, like the social elites. Social elites possess the rights of naming and renaming and thereby decide what will be remem- bered or forgotten. Therefore, local memory of some certain groups may be retained or erased in this process. Under the transition period in contemporary China, various spatial organizations are experiencing tremendous changes, while some other social groups are actively participating in the construction processes of social space. Place naming and renaming controversy is increasingly becoming one of the most hotspot issues. Obviously, the descriptive method cannot provide sufficient explanations for the above-mentioned controversy. The criti- cal perspective adopted by the Anglophonic toponymy studies in the past few years may shed light on the place naming studies in Chinese cities. In the context of Anglophonic studies, the studies mainly focused on the cul- tural and political processes of the change of place names, the rewritten of local memory with the regime change, the privatization of public space due to the commercialization of naming rights, and so on. From the critical perspective of New Cultural Geography, this article focuses on the processes of place naming and re- naming and adopts the textual analysis method to analyze the causes of naming controversies and the corre- sponding power relations in the process of naming and renaming Guangzhou Metro stations. It argues that the naming and renaming processes involve commercial, political and cultural factors all of which point to the core essence of naming rights. The prominent actors, including business enterprises, government agencies and general social groups, hold different positions which are based on their own interests and they actively struggle for the naming rights and continue to negotiate with other actors. The general social groups usually participate in place naming and renaming processes by expressing their dissatisfactions and doubts via the virtual network with non-resistant discourses. News media provide platforms and channels for the disadvantaged expressing their opinions and help them win some benefits through the negotiation. Nonetheless, what the place will be named or renamed still depends mainly on the authority. However, place identity will be strengthened forceful- ly when the government holds cultural conservation ideas. The article will make up for the ＂emphasizing de- scription, but ignoring analysis＂ weakness of the descriptive method by way of textual analysis from a critical perspective and provide new ideas for the research on place names in China. It will also be helpful for the pro- tection of toponymy culture, the inheritance of local cultural memory and the improvement of place identity through properly naming and renaming a specific place.