您所在的位置： BBC英语教学首页 > 英国问答 > 正文

Place Names 地名

I wondered about some place’s names in Britain and what they mean. For example, is Richmond a zone that rich people live in?

Shirley Lee, China

收听与下载

What do place names like Nottingham, Manchester and London mean?

While it is easy to figure out the meaning of many Chinese place names like Shanghai, Nanjing and Shandong, British place names can be difficult to know the meaning of.

This is because place names in Britain contain influences from many languages including French, Anglo-Saxon, Latin, Celtic and Norse.

Shetlanders dressed as VIkings for the annual festival Up Helly Aa

Vikings from Scandinavia gave Britain many place names

To help us understand the subject, Finn interviewed Dr Paul Cavill from the University of Nottingham, who is an expert on place names and their meanings.

We also take a trip back in history to discover the succession of different peoples who invaded and settled in the British Isles, and how the languages they brought with them influenced the place names of Britain.

For example, listen to the programme to find out what all place names ending in 'chester' and 'caster' mean.

After you have listened to the programme try the questions below.