Landscape underwater, underwater landscapes: Kangaroo Island diving site names as elements of the linguistic landscape

Abstract

A linguistic and cultural analysis of diving site names and their role as toponyms is absent in scuba diving tourism research and landscape research. This paper argues for using place-names for the identification of historical landscape features and that diving site names as place-names and historical landscape features could be of interest for creating and documenting coastal and underwater landscape inventories. It claims that diving site names of Kangaroo Island, South Australia, and diving site toponymy in general, are linguistic ephemera linked to tourism activities, which may provide a greater understanding of the ‘linguistics of landscape’, the ‘linguistic landscape’, and the ‘landscape of language’. In conclusion, this paper speculates about the function of diving site names as worthwhile pilgrimage locations connected with tourism of particular cultural landscapes.