Toponymy of Indonesian Islands: Historical and linguistic perspectives

Abstract

This study investigates the toponymy of the Indonesian Islands. The researchers collect data by tracing documents containing islands' names from colonial to modern times. The data are taken from written sources containing the names of the Indonesian islands. The study applies a historical and linguistic approach. The research results indicate that the naming of Indonesian islands mainly involved Portuguese, Dutch, the Indonesian government, and local people. The naming of the islands is closely related to the perspective and behaviour of the parties involved in naming the islands. Besides, the naming of Indonesian islands also contained political, social, economic, and cultural motives.