Exploring the Semantic Meaning of Place Names in Describing the Characteristics of the Pontianak City Region as a National Mapping Effort

This study explores the semantic meaning of place names in describing the characteristics of Pontianak City as a national mapping effort. The study highlights the importance of landscape and geography in understanding urban identity. The method used in this study is qualitative descriptive with a semantic and multidisciplinary approach. Data collection techniques include surveys, interviews, literature studies, and the use of social media. The data analysis techniques used in this study include data reduction, categorization, data synthesis, and the preparation of work hypotheses. The results of this study show that the characteristics of the landscape based on the name of the place in Pontianak City include elements of naming flora, fauna, heroes, figures, and characteristics of the natural environment. Street name elements that use plant elements are mostly in the Pontianak City area. Furthermore, street names that use fauna features were found in the West Pontianak area. Likewise, the name of the hero element street exists in several sub-districts, namely South Pontianak, Southeast Pontianak, and Pontianak City. The use of street names for characters or figures is also widely found for example Parit Demang Street dan Parit Wan Salim Street. The naming of roads with geographical elements, for example Equatorial Street and Sentarum Lake Street. Therefore, the findings of this study can be used as a recommendation to the Pontianak City government and the central government in general for the mapping of street names in Indonesia.