The street naming in Hanoi during French colonial period

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate street naming in Hanoi during the French colonial period. From documentary research and a research of information available on the internet, it was found that there are 332 names of streets dating back to this period. The study also found that there were two languages used to name roads, namely. French – 272 names, and Vietnamese – 60 names. The grammar used for naming streets of street names during this period was based on French grammar.The street name structure can be divided into 3 parts: (i) The type of street, (ii) the name of the street, and (iii) extension.The street type can be divided into 13 categories: (1). Avenue (2). Boulevard (3). Impasse (4). Ruelle
(5). Cité (f) Quai (6). Digue (h) Route (7). Voie (8). Passage (9). Place (10). Square and (11). Rue. The street names can be categorized into 12 groups The names of product and object, Number, The shape of the street, The name of a military agency, The name of a country, The name of a natural, The name of an ethnic group or village, The name of a city or island, The name of a religious place, The name of an area, miscellaneous place, and The name of a person.Techniques used for street naming during this period were as follows: (1). number system, (2). Vietnamese translation into French, (3). street naming in accordance with the characteristics of the area through which the road passed, (4). street naming in accordance with the country and city (5). Vietnamese names and, (6). Using the name of a person.