The paper provides insights into the preservation of cultural heritage through toponymic research, emphasizing the importance of place-name collection for understanding historical, cultural and ecological transformations, using the names of mounds as examples.

Mounds are remarkable geographical features of the Great Hungarian Plain. Most of them are ancient burial sites of significant historical and cultural value, they also have ecological importance, as they are the last remnants of the loess grasslands that once covered the flatland. Mounds are relatively distinct spatial features that, along with their associated functions, serve as important organizing elements of the cognitive map, which is why they are typically named. However, quite many names have been gradually falling into oblivion due to changes in the use and knowledge of the landscape. People no longer have the same direct, everyday relationship with their geographical environment as before.

The paper analyzes the names of mounds in two districts of the Hortobágy region. This approach allows us to gain insight into the spatial perception and use of space in the past. Additionally, the study highlights the advantages of the ongoing comprehensive place-name survey (Hungarian National Toponym Registry), with the first two volumes of the survey forming the basis of this analysis.

Based on functional-semantic analysis, naming motifs and narratives embedded in the names of mounds can be revealed. As the semantic content of the specific elements shows, mounds are generally conceptualized and linguistically construed as parts of the man-shaped landscape (e.g., Tikos-domb: Tikos settlement name and 'hill'; Szász János laponyagja 'János Szász’s hill'; Tedeji-templomdomb 'Tedej church mound'; Szőlő-halom referring to a vineyard). Many mound names are also linked to local legends and beliefs, such as tales of hidden treasures. These stories are preserved in names like Kincses-halom 'treasure mound' or Pénzes-halom 'money mound'.

Today, mounds are legally protected, but proper conservation requires systematic registration, often based on historical maps. Collections of place names, including both contemporary and historical forms, can make a substantial contribution to these interdisciplinary efforts.

This paper explores the relationship between micro-toponyms and the geo-morphology of a glaciated valley, from source to sea. This case study draws on the methodology of my academic research in Ardudwy, in the south of Eryri (formerly Snowdonia) where 15,000 micro-toponyms were analysed and used as a basis for cultural and historic landscape deconstructions. Those results showed that micro-toponyms are ancient and act as linguistic palimpsests, indicating how previous generations viewed and used their physical environment. The results of this research in the Ogwen valley are entirely consistent with the earlier research.

This area is a stunning location, much valued by local people, tourists, climbers, geomorphologists and geologists. It has world-wide recognition as a classic glaciated valley. Alongside and above the U-shaped valley are several glacial hanging valleys or cwms (cirques). The most well-known is Cwm Idwal (Cwm + personal name Idwal). It is now protected by a partnership of three national organizations and is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSI). Its steep cliffs house Alpine plants, which are extremely rare elsewhere in Britain.

The geology is spectacular. A syncline with brachiopod fossils, of marine origin, forms the high cliffs at the end of the cwm. Unsurprisingly, such riches attracted early academics such as the remarkable Edward Llwyd, botanist, geologist, antiquary, and philologist who discovered rare Alpine plants on the cliffs here in 1688. Geologist Professor Adam Sedgwick and his pupil, Charles Darwin visited Cwm Idwal almost a century and a half later. All referred to specific locations of interest, by the ancient, Welsh micro-toponyms used by farmers and shepherds, names which are still in use today.

These rocks have also attracted climbers who bring much needed income. Technology has opened up a new journalistic world where individuals create attractive websites and blogs to promote their favourite climbs. Unfortunately, they import new micro-toponyms or translate ancient names into English, rather than interpreting them. These new names soon take root, displacing centuries old names which are full of important cultural and environmental references.

Urban sociolinguistics rethinks the city beyond its mere geographical dimension, considering it as a discursive matrix shaped by the demographic and cultural diversity it encompasses. In this perspective, the city becomes a space of linguistic production, where place names play a central role in expressing local identities and migratory dynamics.

This approach defines the city as a complex cultural entity that must be analyzed through various levels of interaction and geographical scales. Within this framework, our contribution examines urban resilience through the lens of place-name standardization and their balance within the sustainable development of the city.

The study focuses on the city of Boussemghoun, once structured around traditional housing in the Ksar and now undergoing significant urban transformations. The new place names, imposed by administrative commissions, raise a fundamental question: do the place names of this new city reflect the linguistic diversity of Boussemghoun?

Through field research, we will explore how traditional place names are transposed and reinterpreted by the inhabitants, particularly the autochthonous population, Ksouriens, and new users of this urban space. This neo-toponymy thus becomes a site of renewed spatial appropriation, where linguistic practices reveal a plurality of uses and cultural diversity.

In conclusion, this research aims to shed light on how migratory dynamics and socio-cultural transformations shape a resilient city, where place names oscillate between heritage preservation and adaptation to new linguistic and geographical references.

Street toponymy is not merely a tool for organizing urban spaces; it is not a neutral element devoid of meaning or intention. On the contrary, it should be seen as a direct reflection of the ideology and collective identity that different political regimes have sought to impose on their territories and populations. It is, therefore, an instrument that creates not only physical maps but also maps of identity, authentic geographies of memory.

By analyzing the evolution of street names in a specific city, it is possible to observe the urban memory map that each political regime has tried to shape for its citizens. This research focuses on the historical evolution of street names in the city of Elda, located in southeastern Spain, from 1931 to the present. It explores how the city's street toponymy evolved across three key periods in Spain's recent history: the Second Republic and Civil War (1931–1939), the Francoist Dictatorship (1939–1975), and the Transition to Democracy and current democratic period (1975–present).

This study does not merely describe changes in street names but examines the relationship between political regimes and the names they assigned to urban spaces. It classifies these names through statistical charts based on the dominant categories in each period (military, religious, cultural, historical, political, etc.) and compares the findings across the different historical stages studied. The data for this research was obtained from the Historical Municipal Archive of Elda.

The research provides a critical analysis of how urban street names reflect shifts in cultural and political landscapes. Although it focuses on the case of Elda, its findings have broader implications for understanding similar processes in other Spanish and European cities. It highlights the role of street names and their evolution over time as tools for fostering identification between citizens and the political culture of the ruling regime - in other words, as instruments for the ideological homogenization of society.