Das Toponym Macau als Politikum: Etymologie und sino-portugiesische Kolonialgeschichte

Abstract

The toponym Macau (a former Portuguese colony in the Chinese Pearl River delta, approx. 60 km west of Hong Kong) has become a frequent topic of etymological debate in the 20th century. Two factors may account for this interest: first, as a multiethnic city, Macau is linguistically diverse, which gives rise to complex scenarios of linguistic contact. Second, the 20th century constitutes a watershed in both Portugal’s and China’s history, the most important change being the end of the colonial era. This change prompted the need to reassess the legal, historical, cultural and linguistic status of Macau’s inhabitants with their diverse ethnic backgrounds. In the 1990s, when Macau’s sovereignty was transferred from Portugal to the People’s Republic of China, many debates about the name of the city occurred in the philological, belletristic and political literature. This article illustrates how debates concerning the Macanese toponym address (latent) longstanding political conflicts between ethnic groups. In addition, an etymology for the Macanese toponym is sugge sted that takes account of the fact that Macau has been a multilingual society for many centuries.