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Article published In:
Journal of Language and Politics
Vol. 15:6 (2016) ► pp.768–789

Name as a regional brand

The case of Local Action Groups in Czechia

| Charles University, Czechia
| Charles University, Czechia
| Charles University, Czechia

The article addresses denominations of specific regions, Local Action Groups (LAGs), in Czechia, and contributes to the academic debate regarding: relationships between formation of regions, their symbolic shape and regional identity; formation of regions by means of regional development. A set of 179 LAG names registered in the database of the National Network of Local Action Groups in the Czech Republic as of March 2014 are examined. LAG names are first analyzed in terms of the phenomena that constitute their essence, and subsequently their territorial differentiation is discussed. The analysis affirms the importance of territorial approach towards regional denomination. It has equally been affirmed that region naming strategies are spatially fragmented. Nevertheless, the territorial differentiation of names of LAG regions mirrors the elementary spatial patterns traditionally reproduced in the Czech context, namely west-east gradient of development level, distinctions between historical lands and differences between inland and borderland resettled after WWII.

Keywords: symbolic shape, regional names, regional identity, regional differentiation, regional development, Local Action Groups, Czechia
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Regional name: symbol and brand
  • 3.Local Action Groups and their position in Czechia
  • 4.Materials and methods
  • 5.Semantic basis of LAG names
  • 6.Spatial differentiation of LAG names
  • 7.Conclusions
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 9 February 2017
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/jlp.15.6.06sem
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