Manual for the national standardization of geographical names (2006)

Field collection of names

features and that the records are clear. A geographer or field cartographer who qualifies as a

linguist would be able to record the names properly.

People knowledgeable in linguistics, however, are not always available. In that case, it is

recommended that the locally spoken names and their meanings, if known, be recorded on tape

or diskette. Each is number-coded to the appropriate symbol on the fieldwork map or annotated

to coincide with the relevant image marked on an aerial photograph. It is good procedure to have

each name spoken twice along with its use in the context of a sentence. Later, in the office or at

a university, qualified linguists can transcribe the recorded names into an acceptable

orthography. The recorded information can also be used to develop pronunciation guides for the

names. In all cases, the meaning of each name, if known by the informant, should be included in

the recording in order to assist in correct interpretation.

For names in unwritten languages, electronic sound-recording on tape or diskette is

sometimes the only really practical method. The recorded material is best transcribed and

evaluated later in the office by “centrally” located linguists (preferably members of, or advisors

to, the names authority), who are well acquainted with any existing phonetic transcription

method.

Electronic recording in the field may also be used to assist in the office evaluation of

problems of articulation (such as stress, tone, etc.) that are not easy to record in writing.

Local names committees: field assistance

The field investigator should not overlook the possible assistance that existing

regional and local names committees or authorities can provide in the introduction and

selection of people to be interviewed. If such an authority exists within or near the area being

surveyed, it also may be possible to rely on persons associated with that authority to conduct the

field interviewing, with or without the supervision of a field investigator working for the national

Government. This fieldwork can be done in cooperation with the national names authority as an

integral part of the standardization programme. Such a procedure allows local communities to

be directly responsible for collecting and recording their own names.

Local committees may also be able to handle multiple-language situations more easily

than someone from the outside who is unfamiliar with the languages of the area. Local and

regional authorities normally operate with essentially the same principles, policies and

procedures for the treatment of geographical names as those followed by the national authority.

At a more informal level, it is possible for a government fieldworker to organize an ad

hoc local committee to assist in the interviewing and recording of names. An ad hoc committee

can be used to help overcome any language barriers.

A variation of the fieldwork procedure that involves going from one informant to another

might also be possible through a local committee. It could be less costly and more effective to

arrange for knowledgeable local informants to come together as a group to discuss and

record the area toponyms. Collection of information using this process can accomplish name

selection democratically through discussion among local citizens. This approach to the

Manual for the national standardization of geographical names

collection of geographical names could also entail less time and cost than the procedure of

visiting people individually.

Field information review

Although the goals of field investigation are simple and straightforward, it can be seen

that the procedures and methods used in the field may vary considerably. Many conditions affect

field investigations. The process of obtaining specific and sometimes complex toponymic

information from local people having different cultural attitudes, personalities and languages

requires flexibility in the procedures and methods used.

The final result of a field operation is the collection of field reports, annotated work

maps and their overlays, and other material related to the toponymy of a specific area. This

material, as far as possible in computer files, is submitted to the staff support office for

processing. The field material is reviewed and evaluated for relative completeness, accuracy and

adherence to standards. In packages of manageable size (usually based on map sheet area or

types of features), names and their applications are then processed and reported, according to

established office procedures, for consideration by the names authority.

Figure XVI.

Discussion and verification of the results of fieldwork

Manual for the national standardization of geographical names

Chapter X

Dissemination of official toponyms

Making known the decisions of the names authority, for example,

through gazetteers, maps and toponymic guidelines for map and

other editors

Publishing official names

The dissemination of official geographical names is the end result of a standardization

programme. The work of the national authority will have limited success if those in

national and local government, the business community, the general public and the

international community are unable to obtain official name information quickly and easily.

Publication of the national authority’s principles, policies and procedures is also

important because it explains the basis for official name decisions and supports the integrity of

the naming process.

Information on official names can be provided to the user community through official

maps and gazetteers made available in paper copy. Today, distribution can be carried out

electronically through the Internet, and on CD-ROMs, as well as via a national GIS (geographic

information system) (Glossary, 118) that may also include official maps. Different media suit

different user needs.

The publication of a standard map series, by the national mapping organization is one of

the best methods available to most countries for the dissemination of official names. Paper

maps, unfortunately, are not frequently revised, but public notices in the form of periodic

correction lists can provide new names and official changes to names on published maps.

With geographical names in a computer database, the official names, name correction

lists and the national authority’s principles, policies and procedures can be made available by

CD-ROM and/or posted on the Internet. The Internet allows distribution to a large user audience

worldwide and supports daily or almost real-time updating of data. With the provision of a

search engine on the World Wide Web, users can effectively address their own queries to the

official database.

Gazetteers

The First United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names

recommended that each names authority produce, and continually revise, appropriate gazetteers

of all its standardized geographical names and that, in addition to the standardized names, each

gazetteer should include, as a minimum, such information as is necessary for the proper location

and identification of the named features (I/4 E, 1967). In particular, it was recommended that the

following be included:

Dissemination of official toponyms

(a) The kind of feature to which the name applies;

(b) Precise description of the location and extent, including a point position

reference if possible, of each named feature;

reference to the whole and for the names of extended features to be defined as

necessary by reference to their constituent parts;

(d) Such information on administrative or regional areas as is considered

necessary and, if possible, reference to a map or chart within which the

features lie;

(e) All officially standardized names for a feature, if there is more than one; and

provision for cross-references to be made to names previously used for the

same feature.

A basic group of publications for any particular country includes a language dictionary

(or dictionaries), a national atlas, a large-scale map series, a national encyclopedia and,

importantly, a national gazetteer. To date, most gazetteers are in paper-copy format. However, if

a country’s toponymic data has been automated, gazetteer information can be made available in

digital format, for example, on the Internet.

Gazetteers list in a logical (for example, alphabetical) order the geographical names

found within an administrative division of a country or within the whole country (see figure

XVII). For all official names, a gazetteer should include information that identifies the kinds of

geographical entities named, their locations, and variant names and spellings. In some countries,

gazetteers might include additional information, such as: elevations, population of places, official

map sheets, grammatical information such as name gender or romanized name forms. Gazetteers

are generally compiled and published after a relatively complete collection of names and

associated information has been assembled for an area. The national authority’s database of

official names (or the card files) should provide the data source.

Gazetteers differ from publications that also include information on name meaning,

history of the naming process and/or history and geography of the feature. These works are

normally termed geographical dictionaries.

The Second United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names

(1977) considered that the publication of full national gazetteers might not be immediately

possible in some countries. However, considering the international community’s need for a basic

stock of a country’s official names, the United Nations Conference recommended making

available interim lists of standardized names.

In its resolution II/35 (1977), the Second United Nations Conference recommended that

in the interim, countries be encouraged to publish concise lists of their names of

geographical entities, including administrative divisions, within a reasonable time and that,

as far as possible, where those names were officially written in a non-Roman script for

which a romanization system had been agreed, romanized names in accordance with those

systems should be included in those lists.²⁶

²⁶ See Second United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names, vol. I, Report of the

Conference, London, 10-31 May 1972 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.74.I.2).

Manual for the national standardization of geographical names

Figure XVII.

Example of gazetteer content and part of a page layout, as

illustrated in the bilingual publication entitled Concise Gazetteer of

Canada/Répertoire toponymique concis du Canada

Note:

•

Names are shown in upper and lower case with appropriate diacritics and

listed alphabetically.

•

Entities: populated places, administrative and geographical areas are grouped

into 13 types of entities (that is to say, categories) and physical features are

grouped into 21. Each entity is displayed in abbreviated form in English and

French.

•

Location 1 and location 2 are the first- and second-level administrative

divisions of the country.

•

Map scale: 1:50,000.

•

Latitude (north) and longitude (west) are provided in degrees and minutes,

rounded to the nearest minute.

If the office maintains its official name records in automated form as a computer file, the

publication of a gazetteer becomes an easy matter. The computer, with simple printers, is

capable of printing out whatever fields of information are required, in any order and with the

desired layout for publication purposes.

Today, digital gazetteers available on CD-ROMs or on the Web may supplement, or

replace, printed gazetteers.

Dissemination of official toponyms

Before a gazetteer programme is begun, it would be useful to review gazetteers published

in other countries, their publishing procedures and formats, and the methods of correction and

update used.

Updating official name information

Maps and printed gazetteers become out of date shortly after they are published. The

time gap can be bridged by use of information reports that keep users informed on a regular basis

of changes and new names. If the official name records are part of a computer file, the

information maintenance problem is easily solved. These reports and up-to-date gazetteers in

various formats can be printed or made available digitally with very little preparation cost.

Again, with an official geographical names computer database, current information can

easily be made available to a wide range of users.

Toponymic guidelines for map and other editors²⁷ )

In 1979, the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names developed the idea that

each country should periodically make available to the world community an up-to-date document

to promote a better understanding of its toponymy. The Fourth United Nations Conference on

the Standardization of Geographical Names recommended (resolution IV/4, 1982) that countries

should be encouraged to publish and keep up-to-date toponymic guidelines for map and

other editors, which would enable cartographers of other countries to treat correctly all

problems of cartographic toponymy of the countries that had produced such guidelines,

and which might be of help to all users in interpreting maps.²⁸ It was further recommended

that those guidelines contain, inter alia, and as appropriate, the following items:

(a) Legal status of geographical names in the respective languages of multilingual

countries;

(b) Alphabets of the language or languages and, furthermore, in the case of non-

Roman alphabets and scripts, the officially introduced romanization keys;

(d) Aids to pronunciation of geographical names;

(e) Linguistic substrata recognizable in the existing place names, but only as far as

their knowledge could be of benefit to the cartographer;

(f)

Relationship between dialect(s) and standard language(s);

(g)

Peculiarities of dialect and areal distribution of the main dialects;

(h)

Areal distribution of languages in multilingual countries;

(i)

Names authorities and measures taken in names standardization;

(j)

Source material;

(k)

Glossary of words necessary for the understanding of maps;

(l)

Abbreviations in official maps;

(m) Administrative divisions.

) For further details, see part two, chap. IX.

²⁸ See Fourth United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names, vol. I, Report of the

Conference, Geneva, 24 August-14 September 1982 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.83.I.7).

Dissemination of official toponyms

Afterword

People use geographical names every day of their lives. As noted by one of the first members of

the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names, Meredith F. Burrill, geographical

names are the language of maps and charts and provide the main geographical reference in all

forms of written documents. Establishing a geographical names authority and carrying out a

national standardization programme need not be costly or complex. Such a programme will

provide a country’s governments, its industrial, commercial and business organizations, and its

citizens with a suite of official geographical names that have been approved by the national

authority. If the programme is planned and organized carefully and undertaken with moderation,

there will be considerable savings in time and money. Over-organization, especially in the

beginning, should be avoided, as the added complexity could burden the programme and lead to

unnecessary costs.

The process comprising the giving of names and their use in everyday spoken

language is a dynamic one. A workable standardization programme requires continuous

and careful attention to the details of the process and an effective system through which to

disseminate information. It is particularly important that the names authority exercise

responsibility over the use of names in government, if it is to accomplish its mission of

achieving the national standardization of geographical names.

Manual for the national standardization of geographical names

Chapter I

Role of the United Nations in the standardization of

geographical names: some fifty years on¹

Helen Kerfoot (Canada)

Geographical names mean many things to many people! They are embedded in our minds as

daily reference points, as integral parts of local or national history, or perhaps as places with

special connections or interesting stories to tell. To a cartographer or geographic information

system (GIS) specialist, they are an important element in geo-referencing; to a journalist, a vital

colour in his reporting palette. For all, geographical names may constitute either a clear

communication tool or a source of ambiguity and confusion.

The avoidance of ambiguity entails some sort of standardization of geographical names

and their applications. Although standardization might have been considered long before, it was

only at the Fifth International Geographical Congress, held in Bern, Switzerland, in 1891, that

the German geographer Albrecht Penck first proposed applying the concept on a worldwide

basis. He launched the idea of a world map on the scale 1:1 million, not only with map

projection, symbolization and design laid out, but also with proposals for the standardized writing

of geographical names (de Henseler, 1992, paras. 4-5).

Geographical names at the United Nations: early years

Details of the “formative years” in establishing a United Nations focal point for the

standardization of geographical names are well documented in the report of Max de Henseler to

the Sixth United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names (1992). He

discussed chronologically the meetings, debates and recommendations extending from the sixth

session of the Economic and Social Council in 1948 to the First United Nations Regional

Cartographic Conference for Asia and the Pacific in 1955 and Council resolution 715 A (XXVII)

of 23 April 1959. This provided the foundation stone for the formation of the United Nations

Group of Experts on Geographical Names and the holding of the quinquennial United Nations

Conferences on the Standardization of Geographical Names.

In the late 1950s, the work of geographical names standardization at the United Nations

level was recognized as addressing:

•

The standardization in one form (univocity) of geographical names at the national

level by the country concerned (for international use).

•

The agreement on standard methods of transliteration of the accepted form into

other languages at the international level.

¹ Updated from Helen Kerfoot, “Role of the United Nations in the standardization of geographical names”, in

Lecture Notes, vol. 1, for Dutch- and German-speaking Division/United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical

Names training course in toponymy, Enschede, Netherlands/Frankfurt am Main, Germany, 10-24 August 2002, pp.

91-102. Edited at Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands, 2002.

Role of the United Nations in the standardization of geographical names some fifty years on

In its resolution 715 A (XXVII) the Council, requested the Secretary-General:

(a) To provide encouragement and guidance to those nations that had no national

organization for the standardization and coordination of geographical names to

establish such an organization and to produce national gazetteers at an early date;

(b) To take the necessary steps to ensure the functions of a central clearing house for

geographical names, including:

(i) The collection of gazetteers;

(ii) The collection and dissemination of information concerning the technical

procedures adopted by Member States for standardization of domestic names,

and concerning the techniques and systems used by each Member State in the

transliteration of the geographical names of other countries.

To put the plan in motion, a small consulting group of experts from different linguistic

groups and with a wide geographical distribution was set up. Its task was to consider and to

prepare draft recommendations on technical problems of domestic standardization of

geographical names, and to consider the appropriateness of holding an international conference

on geographical names standardization.

The Ad Hoc Group of Experts on Geographical Names, chaired by Dr. Meredith F.

Burrill (United States of America), met in New York in 1960. It recommended that a conference

be held, and was subsequently tasked with preparing the specific objectives for the First United

Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names convened in Geneva from 4

to 22 September 1967. In summary, the objectives of the Conference were as follows:

•

To confirm that national standardization was the proper basis for international

standardization.

•

To ensure that countries took greater account in their standardization programmes,

of the problems others might encounter in using their geographical names

(especially to ensure that all linguistic details were included for proper conversion

to other scripts).

•

To compare problems and programmes of countries.

•

To identify topics for further study.

•

To formulate principles of international standardization and transfer from one

writing system to another.

•

To establish systems for romanization from other writing systems into the United

Nations Roman-alphabet languages (English, French and Spanish).

•

To consider establishing systems for international standardization based on the

Cyrillic and Arabic alphabets,

•

To identify categories of names of features extending beyond the sovereignty of a

single country and the possibilities of standardization.

•

To develop a mechanism for international exchange of information.

•

To propose the establishment of a programme of regional conferences/working

groups to follow up the Geneva conference.

•

To promote the establishment of names standardization bodies in all countries.

Manual for the national standardization of geographical names

The Group of Experts continued its work after the First United Nations Conference. In

London, the Second Conference (10 to 31 May 1972) recommended a more permanent status for

the Group of Experts. Following endorsement by the Economic and Social Council (decision of

4 May

1973, entitled

“Second United Nations Conference on the Standardization of

Geographical Names”), the Ad Hoc Group of Experts, renamed the United Nations Group of

Experts on Geographical Names, became one of seven United Nations standing expert bodies.

Participation at the United Nations Conferences on the Standardization of

Geographical Names

As of 2004, the United Nations had held eight Conferences on the Standardization of

Geographical Names (and 22 sessions of the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical

Names). Participation in the conferences is quantified in figures XVIII and XIX. Some

comments on the figures as they applied to the first seven Conferences are included in Kerfoot

(2000). These are summarized below with updates so as to include the Eighth United Nations

Conference held in 2002.

Figure XVIII indicates the number of delegates, countries, and specialized agencies and

intergovernmental and other organizations that participated in each of the eight Conferences held

between 1967 and 2002. Max de Henseler’s report (de Henseler, 1992), presented at the Sixth

United Nations Conference, had shown participation in the first five United Nations

Conferences. The results indicated that the Third United Nations Conference held in Athens in

1977 had had the greatest number of delegates participating (141) and that the Fourth United

Nations Conference held in Geneva in 1982 had had the greatest number of countries represented

(62). One might have thought that the main aims of standardization had been achieved. However,

the data from the last three United Nations Conferences show increased participation in recent

years—with 89 countries and 234 delegates having been represented at the Eighth United

Nations Conference held in Berlin from 27 August to 5 September 2002.

Although the numbers for the participating special agencies and intergovernmental and

other organizations, as shown in figure XVIII are small, the Group of Experts has been trying to

create stronger ties with international organizations and professional groups (for example, the

International Hydrographic Organization, the Economic Commission for Africa, the

International Organization for Standardization, the International Cartographic Association and

the International Council of Onomastic Sciences). Increasing their involvement and collaboration

will further the work of the Group of Experts and the United Nations Conferences.

Figure XIX shows the participation of countries at the United Nations Conferences, by

the number of Conferences attended. Of 144 countries that participated at any of the eight

Conferences, 35 per cent attended five or more conferences (in other words, over half of the

Conferences). Just less than 11 per cent had been represented on all eight occasions. It is

encouraging to note, however, that of the 40 countries that attended only one Conference, 18 of

them were at either the Seventh or the Eighth United Nations Conference.

Manual for the national standardization of geographical names

Continuing need for standardization

Since the early gatherings of the

1960s, exponential advances in technology and

communication have permitted a more sophisticated approach to geographical names data

storage and retrieval, and the possibility of instantaneously reaching worldwide names users in

many fields of endeavour. These opportunities to provide and receive data easily, and often

cheaply, will not of themselves realize the original goal of standardization, which was to

facilitate communication. They do, however, go a long way towards enhancing the need for the

Group of Experts and the United Nations Conferences to meet the challenges of national and

international standardization. Data may be easy to come by, but reliable, authoritative

information is at a premium. Hence, the onus on Member States to work at the grass-roots level

to record and disseminate accurate and appropriate geographical names information is

increasing, as the tide of often spurious and unsubstantiated second- and third-hand data rises

ever higher.

To summarize the benefits of using consistent and accurate geographical names, the

Group of Experts developed the text for a brochure that could be widely circulated to

government managers, United Nations officers, the media, etc. At first printed in English in

Australia, but later (2001) published by the United Nations in its six official languages, the

brochure underlines the socio-economic benefits of a standard set of names for national—and by

extension for international—use. The benefits of such standardized names are apparent in

communication: they can prevent ambiguity while providing clarity and cost savings in

commerce, planning, search and rescue, emergency preparedness, censuses, property rights,

environmental management, etc. Several additional language forms of the brochure have now

been created within various divisions of the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical

Names to assist their own programmes. The text or PDF file

(see http://unstats.un.org/

unsd/geoinfo/) is available for any country or division of the Group of Experts that would like to

translate the brochure into other languages to meet its own needs.

The concept of national standardization of geographical names is a significant corner-

stone of this United Nations work. The financial benefits for a country of this undertaking’s

being administered through a single authority (committee, department, etc.) are not easy to

determine, but the resulting elimination of duplicated effort among government departments, for

example, where no single organization has this responsibility, becomes immediately apparent.

Furthermore, such an authority may contribute valuable input into efforts to protect and preserve

elements of a country’s values that are embedded in its history and culture. The United Nations

Conferences promote this process of national standardization as a basis of international

standardization.

Resolutions adopted at the United Nations Conferences on the Standardization of

Geographical Names

At the eight United Nations Conferences on the Standardization of Geographical Names

held between 1967 and 2002, many resolutions were adopted,² with the aim of furthering and

directing the work on geographical names standardization around the world.

² One hundred and eighty-four resolutions were adopted, but it should be noted that about 22 of these would be

considered non-substantive (that is to say, related to votes of thanks, proposals for forthcoming conferences, etc.).

Role of the United Nations in the standardization of geographical names some fifty years on

At the Fifth United Nations Conference in 1987, Max de Henseler, then Secretary of the

Group of Experts, compiled the resolutions of the earlier Conferences, grouped under general

subject headings. This work was continued by Canada, producing English- and French-language

compendiums of resolutions of the eight Conferences. The following subject headings continue

to be used (with a few resolutions listed under more than one heading):

Subject area

No. of resolutions

United Nations Conferences on the Standardization of

Geographical Names

United Nations Group of Experts of Geographical Names

International cooperation in the standardization of geographical names

Toponymic guidelines for map and other editors

National standardization

Regional meetings

Education and training in the treatment of geographical names

Terminology (including glossaries)

List of country names

10.

Preparation of gazetteers

11.

Bibliographies

12.

Exchange of experience

13.

Automated data processing/digital data

14.

Exonyms

15.

Romanization/General

16.

Romanization by language

17.

Maritime and undersea feature names

18.

Names of features beyond a single sovereignty

19.

Extraterrestrial feature names

20.

Geographical names from unwritten languages

21.

Manual of national names standardization

22.

Aids to pronunciation

23.

Minority languages

24.

Physiogeographic names

25.

Geographical names on tourist maps

26.

Votes of thanks

The Conferences have produced the following numbers of resolutions:

Conference

No. of resolutions

First

Second

Third

Fourth

Fifth

Sixth

Seventh

Eighth

Manual for the national standardization of geographical names

Following the Fifth Conference, the Group of Experts established a Working to assess the

work in hand. Among the issues discussed were the resolutions. Various suggestions were made

regarding the elimination of resolutions that were obsolete, the rewriting of resolutions that were

contradictory, the revision of those encompassing approaches that might have changed over the

years and the dropping of those that were non-substantive in nature. As might be imagined, this

undertaking is not an easy one and has not yet been accomplished. In effect, even more

resolutions would be necessary to achieve such objectives!

United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names

To follow up on the implementation of the resolutions, the Group of Experts takes over

during the years between the Conferences. It usually meets twice between Conferences and, in

addition to the two meetings before the First Conference, had held 22 sessions as of 2004. In

addition, tasks of common interest mandated by the resolutions are undertaken by the Working

Groups of the Group of Experts. As well, the 22 linguistic/geographical divisions of the Group of

Experts provide opportunities for Member States to work in smaller groups with common

interests (see figure XX).

Support for the Group of Experts is provided by a secretariat, currently within the United

Nations Statistics Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs located in New York.

At the twenty-first session of the Group of Experts held in 2002, 22 geographical

/linguistic divisions³ of the Group of Experts were in place. The most recent is the French-

speaking Division (Division francophone), created at the Seventh Conference (VII/1, 1998) to

provide guidance to Member States of the United Nations that could benefit from documents and

discussion on French-language issues in geographical names standardization.⁴

The divisions are important grass-roots networks encouraging national standardization,

and providing focal points for discussion of themes of common interest. Countries can elect to be

members of more than one division, if this will be of benefit to them. Many divisions function

well and convene regularly. The cost of participating in their sessions is generally less than that

of participating in sessions of the Group of Experts and the existing structure allows experts to

contribute to the discussion of regional issues.

Unfortunately, there are currently a number of inactive divisions. However, it is hoped

that encouragement of renewed cooperation in those divisions will enable mutual assistance in

establishing and promoting names authorities and standardization programmes. It is particularly

encouraging that all 22 divisions of the Group of Experts were represented at the Eighth United

Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names held in Berlin in 2002.

³ Africa Central; Africa East; Africa South; Africa West; Arabic; Asia East (other than China); Asia South-East and

Pacific South-West; Asia South-West (other than Arabic); Baltic; Celtic; China; Dutch- and German-speaking; East

Central and South-East Europe; Eastern Europe, Northern and Central Asia; East Mediterranean (other than Arabic);

French-speaking; India; Latin America; Norden; Romano-Hellenic; United Kingdom; United States/Canada.

⁴ See Seventh United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names, New York, 13-22 January

1998, vol. I, Report of the Conference (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.98.I.18), chap. III.

Role of the United Nations in the standardization of geographical names some fifty years on

United Nations Conferences on the

Standardization of Geographical Names

United Nations Group of

Experts on

Geographical Names

Country names

Toponymic data files and gazetteers

Publicity and funding

Toponymic terminology

Divisions

Romanization systems

Training courses in toponymy

linguistic/geographical

divisions

Evaluation and implementation

Exonyms

Pronunciation

Indigenous and minority group names

Figure XX. Working groups of the United Nations Group of Experts of Geographical

Names and the overall structure of United Nations Conferences on the Standardization of

Geographical Names, the Group of Experts and the divisions of the Group of Experts

Working Groups of the Group of Experts

To follow up on Conference resolutions, various working groups of the Group of Experts

have been established. Following the 1998 Conference six were active:

Working Group on:

Convenor

• Country names

Ms. Sylvie Lejeune (France)/

Mr. Leo Dillon (United States of

America) (from 2003)

• Toponymic data files and gazetteers

Mr. Randall Flynn

(United States of America)

Manual for the national standardization of geographical names

• Publicity and funding

Mr. David Munro (United Kingdom)

• Romanization systems

Mr. Peeter Päll (Estonia)

• Toponymic terminology

Mr. Naftali Kadmon (Israel)

• Training courses in toponymy

Mr. Ferjan Ormeling (Netherlands)

In addition, at the twentieth session of the Group of Experts held at United Nations

Headquarters in January 2000, a need was expressed for the re-establishment of the Working

Group on Evaluation and Implementation so that the activities, functioning, cost-effectiveness

and efficiency of the Group of Experts could be examined (see GEGN/20, para.62). Its creation

was confirmed in 2002; in addition, three new working groups have been created to address

resolutions emanating from the Eighth United Nations Conference.

• Evaluation and implementation

Mr. Ki-Suk Lee (Republic of Korea)

• Exonyms

Mr. Milan Orožen Adamiþ (Slovenia)/

Mr. Peter Jordan (Austria)

• Pronunciation

Mr. Dónall Mac Giolla Easpaig (Ireland)

• Promotion of indigenous and

Mr. Brian Goodchild (Australia)/

minority group geographical names

Mr. William Watt (Australia)

Other working groups will be established as the need arises.

The tasks of the working groups are normally technical in nature, and are characterized

by greater depth and detail than can be dealt with by the Group of Experts as a whole. The

convenor of each working group coordinates the continuity of its effort between sessions of the

Group of Experts. In response to the wishes of experts to involve a wide variety of individuals in

the working groups, meetings of the groups during sessions of the Group of Experts have been

included as meetings of committees of the whole, so that the simultaneous interpretation

facilities are available. The accomplishment of tasks of working groups is fundamental to the

effectiveness of the Group of Experts.

Country names

A complete terminology bulletin/reference manual of country names is available through

the United Nations

(United Nations,

1997; the most up-to-date version is available from

http://unhq-apps-01.un.org/dgaacs/unterm.nsf) and is used, with periodic updates, by all United

Nations departments and bodies. The short, as well as the full or formal, names of States

Members of the United Nations are recorded in the six official languages of the United Nations.

In addition, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) two- and three-letter codes

for the countries are provided.

In 1992, the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names formed a working

group to study the writing of country names and to record the forms used by the countries

themselves in their official languages and writing systems. Transliterated forms, where possible

using the systems recommended by the United Nations Conferences on the Standardization of

Geographical Names, were also to be included. A carefully researched document providing this

information for 193 countries was presented to the Seventh Conference in 1998. This document

was updated and modified where necessary and is available

(in English only) as

E/CONF.94/CRP.11 of the Eighth Conference (2002).

Role of the United Nations in the standardization of geographical names some fifty years on

Efforts are ongoing to update and upgrade this document and to rationalize variances in

usage with the above-mentioned 1997 Terminology Bulletin.

Toponymic data files and gazetteers

Since its inception, and under different titles, the current Working Group on Toponymic

Data Files and Gazetteers has performed, over several decades, major tasks in promoting

consistency in data presentation and fields of data to be included in paper copy gazetteers,

developing and maintaining digital toponymic data files and databases and, more recently,

addressing questions of toponymic data exchange formats and standards. Just recently, a stronger

liaison has been established with the Unicode Consortium in the context of digital text encoding

and with the ISO Technical Committee on Geographic Information/Geomatics (TC 211).

At present, this Working Group has a number of objectives, including provision of

information on software, fonts, data exchange formats and standards, and availability of

gazetteers and data files. The Working Group’s website is located at http://www.zrc-

sazu.si/ungegn/.

Publicity and funding

Following the Fifth Conference, a Working Group on Evaluation and Implementation

was established. After reporting to the Sixth Conference in 1992, this Working Group was re-

focussed to concentrate on a narrower field: that of publicity and funding. Through the efforts of

this Working Group, the information brochure entitled “Consistent use of place names”, based

on text prepared by the Group of Experts was first published with the support of the Australian

Intergovernmental Committee on Surveying and Mapping and the efforts of John Parker

(Australia), then convenor.

The aims of this Working Group continue to include dissemination of material on the

work being undertaken by the Group of Experts. In the last few years, it has been promoting the

importance of ensuring that an effective website is established and maintained by the secretariat

of the Group of Experts in New York. In 2003, the Working Group gathered and prepared

material for two books on geographical names standardization to be published for the Group of

Experts by the United Nations: a basic manual, and a technical manual on romanization systems,

formats and standards for toponymic data exchange, as well as country names.

Romanization systems

Throughout history, many means have been used to convert non-Roman writing systems

to the Roman alphabet. Such a variety of methods, often unscientific in nature, cause

considerable difficulty in communication. Since their inception, the Group of Experts and the

Conferences have had the important task of recommending single systems of romanization based

on scientific principles for each of the languages that use non-Roman script. The Working Group

on Romanization Systems strives between sessions to reach agreements on such systems. At the

Eighth United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names (in 2002), it

was reported

(see E/CONF.94/CRP.81 and Add.1) that systems had been ratified for

languages, although not all had been fully implemented at national and international levels.

Manual for the national standardization of geographical names

Another

17 languages were cited as having romanization systems being devised and/or

officialized, but not yet recommended for international use.⁵

The Working Group continues to look to a future where single romanization systems for

each language using a non-Roman script are recognized and implemented. It also monitors

modifications to existing systems on a continuing basis. The Working Group maintains a

website at http://www.eki.ee/wgrs/.

A letter database that displays languages, special characters and Unicode with images of

the letters can be found at the website of the Institute of the Estonian Language

(http:www.eki.ee/letter/).

Toponymic terminology

A systematic account of the terminology used in the standardization of geographical

names constitutes an important basis for common understanding. In 1984, a publication entitled

Glossary, No. 330: Technical Terminology Employed in the Standardization of Geographical

Names was issued by the United Nations

(ST/CS/SER.F/330). The Working Group on

Toponymic Terminology subsequently made refinements and added further definitions. Experts

from different language groups have translated the new English-language text; some language

versions have been published (for example, Chinese, German) and others have been made

available on the Web (for example, French).

The new multilingual Glossary of Terms for the Standardization of Geographical Names

was published by the United Nations in 2002, and is available in the six-language format (United

Nations Group of Experts of Geographical Names, 2002). The Working Group will continue to

monitor the use of terms and will prepare updates and modifications to the Glossary.

Training courses in toponymy

On the website of the Working Group on Training Courses in Toponymy

(http://toponymycourses.geog.uu.nl/), information is provided on the toponymy courses that have

been offered to international audiences since 1982. In some cases, the associated lecture notes,

manuals, fieldwork guides, etc. are also available. These courses held under various auspices

and in different parts of the world have been provided in the form of lectures, exercises,

workshops, fieldwork and digital toponymic processing techniques. In all cases, the concept of

national standardization (and hence international standardization) is the focal point of the course.

Although the total number of courses grows

(currently about

30), the number of

individuals reached still remains relatively small. As a means of making the concepts and

materials more widely and freely available, a primary focus of this Working Group during the

⁵ Languages with romanization systems supported by resolutions adopted by the United Nations Conferences on the

Standardization of Geographical Names: Amharic, Arabic, Assamese, Bengali, Bulgarian, Chinese, Greek, Gujarati,

Hebrew, Hindi, Kannada, Khmer, Macedonian Cyrillic, Malayalam, Marathi, Mongolian (in China), Nepali, Oriya,

Persian, Punjabi, Russian, Serbian, Tamil, Telugu, Thai, Tibetan, Uighur, Urdu.

Other languages for which romanization systems have been noted in reports, but that are not yet supported by

resolutions adopted by the United Nations Conferences on the Standardization of Geographical Names: Armenian,

Burmese, Byelorussian, Dzongkha, Georgian, Japanese, Kazakh, Kirghiz, Korean, Lao, Maldivian, Mongolian

(Cyrillic), Pashto, Sinhalese, Tajik, Tigrinya, Ukrainian.

Role of the United Nations in the standardization of geographical names some fifty years on

next few years will be the development of Web-based course material. This has now been

started online within the framework of a cartography web course produced by the Commission

on Education and Training

(CET) of the International Cartographic Association

(http://lazarus.elte.hu/cet).

Evaluation and implementation

1987, following the Fifth United Nations Conference on the Standardization of

Geographical Names, the Group of Experts originally established the Working Group on

Evaluation and Implementation to address Conference resolution V/4⁶ entitled “Work performed

by the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names and its future activities”.

Specifically it recommended that the functioning of the Group of Experts should be evaluated

and fresh approaches investigated to improve and enhance its effectiveness. After reporting back

to the sessions of the Group of Experts in 1989 (see WP 31) and 1991 (see WP 55), the Working

Group was disbanded in favour of a new group established to consider aspects of publicity and

funding.

However, as this work needs to be undertaken on a periodic (if not continuing) basis, the

Working Group was re-established in

2000. Its work plan includes an evaluation of the

functioning and efficacy of the Group of Experts and the implementation of resolutions, finding

ways to involve Member States not currently active in the Group of Experts and examining the

needs of developing countries with respect to achieving national standardization of their

geographical names.

Exonyms

The Working Group on Exonyms was created in response to resolution VIII/4 entitled

“Working Group on Exonyms of the United Nations Group of Experts of Geographical Names”,

adopted by the Eighth Conference in 2002. Various conference resolutions now exist on the

treatment, use and reduction of exonyms and the opposition to the creation of new ones in the

context of geographical names standardization and effective United Nations communication.

The consistent use of names on cartographic products, and the use (pros and cons) of nationally

standardized names (endonyms) worldwide have been discussed at many conferences. A

workplan is being developed to encourage progress in addressing these resolutions and a

publication on exonyms is anticipated. The Working Group’s website is located at

http://www.zrc-sazu.si/wge.

Pronunciation

Also at the Eighth Conference, resolution VIII/11 was adopted, recommending that a

Working Group on the Pronunciation of Geographical Names be established within the Group of

Experts. In the same resolution, it was noted that the transliteration of geographical names from

the script of one language into the script of another, such as romanization, did not normally

provide a guide to the correct pronunciation of such names by persons who were unacquainted

with the source language. The Working Group’s workplan is currently being developed.

⁶ See Fifth United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names, vol. I, Report of the

Conference, Montreal, 18-31 August 1987 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.88.I.7).

Manual for the national standardization of geographical names

10.

Promotion of indigenous and minority group geographical names

At the twenty-second session of the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical

Names, held in 2004, the Working Group on the Promotion of Indigenous and Minority Group

Names was established to address resolution VIII/1 adopted by the Eighth United Nations

Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names. A database and reporting structure

are being developed for detailing such activities as fieldwork projects. Interested countries will

then be able to participate in worldwide promotion of their indigenous and minority group

toponymic activities.

Other activities of the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names:

toponymic guidelines

Professor Josef Breu (Austria), as Chairman of the United Nations Group of Experts on

Geographical Names in 1979, initiated the concept of toponymic guidelines for map and other

editors. The aim was for every country to use a common format to present material to advance

the understanding of the country’s toponymy, in particular for those involved in the treatment of

geographical names for cartography. Some countries have presented one or more editions of

their guidelines at United Nations Conferences on the Standardization of Geographical Names or

at sessions of the Group of Experts; others have published them, either independently or in

World Cartography. Estonia, Slovenia and Slovakia, followed by Norway and Austria, were the

first to make guidelines available on the World Wide Web.

A working paper (WP 6), submitted by Canada, and presented at the twentieth session of

the Group of Experts (2000), had summarized the progress of this worldwide project up to 1998.

By 2000, some 35 countries had contributed to the project, including Algeria, Greece, the Islamic

Republic of Iran, Italy, Poland and Slovakia, whose guidelines were submitted to the Group of

Experts in that year.

At the Eighth United Nations Conference in 2002, Poland, Germany and Cyprus had

available published toponymic guidelines; and Italy, the Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, the

Republic of Korea, Thailand and Austria presented first or later versions of their guidelines. At

the twenty-second session of the Group of Experts in 2004, Finland and Italy provided revised

editions of their guidelines.

From now on, it would appear that the Web will be most useful for the distribution of

such material. In 2004, Ms. Isolde Hausner (Austria) took over as coordinator of toponymic

guidelines.

Publications and other information

1. Documentation for the sessions of the United Nations Group of Experts on

Geographical Names and the United Nations Conferences on the Standardization of

Geographical Names

For each session of the Group of Experts and each United Nations Conference on the

Standardization of Geographical Names, documentation is available in various forms:

Role of the United Nations in the standardization of geographical names some fifty years on

Sessions of the Group of Experts:

• Individual technical papers presented

• Report of the session (including agenda, list of participants)

United Nations Conferences:

• Individual technical papers presented

• Volume I: report of the Conference (including agenda, list of

participants, resolutions)

• Volume II: collection of technical papers presented⁷

Copies of some documents are available from the secretariat of the Group of Experts, or

can be consulted at United Nations Headquarters in New York in the General Collection or Map

Library of the United Nations Dag Hammarskjöld Library. Now documents are being made

available for a wider public as PDF files on the website of the Group of Experts.

2. Website of the Group of Experts (http://unstats.un.org/unsd/geoinfo/)

In response to resolution VII/9 adopted by the Seventh United Nations Conference on the

Standardization of Geographical Names entitled “Standardization of geographical names using

the Internet”, the secretariat of the Group of Experts has now established the website of the

Group of Experts where documents and information about activities can be accessed.⁸ The aim

is to keep this site up to date and to provide links to websites of divisions and working groups of

the Group of Experts, as well as to those of individual national names authorities and their

geographical names databases.

3. Brochure prepared by the Group of Experts entitled “Consistent use of place names”

After preparation of the text by the Group of Experts Working Group on Publicity and

Funding, and its adaptation for general appeal, the brochure entitled “Consistent use of place

names” had been first published in English in Australia. In 2001, the brochure was issued in

Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. The text, photos and maps included in

the brochure can also be downloaded from the website of the Group of Experts. It has also been

issued separately in other languages, for instance, French and Greek.

The brochure explains the programmes of the Group of Experts on the consistent use

worldwide of accurate place names, and the economic and social benefits of geographical names

standardization. It is primarily intended for those trying to interest their own Governments in the

work of the United Nations in this field.

4. Glossary of Terms for the Standardization of Geographical Names

The Glossary of Terms for the Standardization of Geographical Names developed by the

Group of Experts, through the Working Group on Toponymic Terminology convened by Naftali

Kadmon, was published by the United Nations in 2002. It provides a reference in six languages

⁷ Volume II was available after the first seven conferences, but with documents now available on the website of the

Group of Experts, its publication has been discontinued.

⁸ See Seventh United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names, vol. I, Report of the

Conference, New York, 13-22 January 1998 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.98.I.18), chap. III.

Manual for the national standardization of geographical names

for many of the terms used worldwide in the standardization of geographical names. This new

publication containing 375 terms replaces the 1984 version entitled Glossary No. 330: Technical

Terminology Employed in the Standardization of Geographical Names (with 115 definitions).

Concluding comments

Although the United Nations Conferences and the sessions of the Group of Experts have

accomplished much since their inception, efforts must be of a continuous nature. Some countries

have not yet heard of the work of the United Nations in this regard; others have not yet witnessed

the advantages or have been unable to create a national names authority; still others have started

out on their path but have been unable to continue. It is to be hoped that the Group of Experts,

through its divisional structure, can reach out further to help countries promote standardization

processes, and that, through the sessions of the Group of Experts and the activities of its working

groups, experiences can be shared in regard to the development of procedures, databases, writing

systems, etc. If we can all learn from each other’s successes—large or small—we can all move

forward in the same direction towards improved international communication.

Selected references

de Henseler, Max (1992). United Nations activities in the field of standardization of geographical

names. Presented at the Sixth United Nations Conference on the Standardization of

Geographical Names, New York, 25 August-3 September 1992. E/CONF.85/CRP.3.

Kadmon, Naftali (2000). Toponymy: The Lore, Laws and Language of Geographical Names.

New York: Vantage Press.

Kerfoot, Helen (2000). Wien or Vienna; Kalaallit Nunaat, Grønland or Greenland? Recent work

and directions in geographical names standardization through the United Nations. Onoma

(International Centre of Onomastics, Leuven (Belgium)), vol. 35, pp. 199-213.

Raper, Peter E.

(2000). Introduction to standardization of geographical names. Onoma

(International Centre of Onomastics, Leuven (Belgium)), vol. 35, pp. 187-198.

————, ed. (1996). United Nations Documents on Geographical Names. Pretoria: Names

Research Institute.

United Nations

(1997). Terminology Bulletin, No.

347/Rev.1: Country Names. Sales No.

A/C/E/F/R/S.97.I.19 and Corr.1.

United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names (2001). Consistent use of place names.

New York: United Nations.

———— (2002). Glossary of Terms for the Standardization of Geographical Names.

Arabic/Chinese/English/French/Russian/Spanish. Sales No. M.01.XVII.7. Also available

from http://unstats.un.org/unsd/geoinfo/.

———— (2004). Resolutions adopted at the eight United Nations Conferences on the

Standardization of Geographical Names (1967, 1972, 1977, 1982, 1987, 1992, 1998,

2002). GEGN/22/6 (a) and GEGN/22/6 (b). English and French only.

Manual for the national standardization of geographical names

Chapter II

Language and the conversion of geographical names¹

Naftali Kadmon (Israel)

Language and pronunciation

Geographical names constitute elements of human language, but what is meant by the term

"language"? In other words, how do we define what we all know intuitively? It is evident that

there can be no single definition of language, since there exist different uses of the term. This

becomes obvious when one considers such expressions as “scientific language”, “Shakespeare's

language”, “computer language”, “body language”, the “Chinese language” and even “bad

language”! The Glossary of Terms for the Standardization of Geographical Names prepared by

the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names includes 15 uses of the term

"language" (entries 145-159) in connection with the standardization of geographical names.

For the purpose of the present chapter, we can adopt, instead of a formal definition, a

quite simple description of language as a channel of communication with the help of which

members of a given society, usually called a linguistic community such as a tribe or a nation, can

transmit conscious thought between individuals.

How many languages are there in the world? This, again, is a matter of definition and of

conjecture, estimates ranging from several hundred to several thousand often being provided.

One authority estimates that there are at least 4000 living languages, with probably another

15,000 dialects.²

Three terms should be introduced in connection with languages:

• Lingua franca or vehicular language, which is a means of verbal communication

between peoples who have no other language in common. One of the first linguae

francae, or "western languages", was based mainly on Italian and served

communication in the eastern and south-western Mediterranean regions in the Middle

Ages.

A geographical names authority, especially in a multilingual country, may have to deal

with the following kinds of vehicular languages:

• Pidgin, which is a kind of auxiliary language derived, for some specific purpose

(such as trading with foreigners), from one or more existing languages, by a process

of strong and sometimes extreme simplification of the latter. One example, which

served trade in the South Seas, is Beach-la-mar or Bislama, based on English.

Chinese Pidgin English is another example. Fanagalo, based mainly on Zulu, which

¹ Adapted with permission from N. Kadmon, Toponymy: The Lore, Laws and Language of Geographical Names

(New York, Vantage Press, 2001).

² See David Crystal, The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language

(Cambridge, United Kingdom, Cambridge

University Press, 1993), p. 285.

Language and the conversion of geographical names

evolved among black mine workers with different ethnic and linguistic backgrounds

in South Africa, is a further example.

• Creole, which is a pidgin that has stabilized and become the sole or primary language

of a linguistic community. Some examples are Haitian Creole based on French and on

the African languages of former slaves; Sranan

(also called Sranantonga and,

somewhat derogatively, Taki-Taki), an English-based creole, with some Dutch and

other elements, used in Suriname; and Melanesian, also based on English.

Another term must be introduced here, namely, unwritten languages (sometimes called

imprecisely, and with little justification, illiterate languages), which are channels of oral

communication for which no separate or original system of written expression has ever been

developed. Practically all indigenous languages of Africa south of the Sahara belong to this

group, as well as most of those spoken by American Indians both in North and in South America,

and the numerous tongues of the Pacific Ocean region. While they have no direct significance in

written communication, they are of great importance as regards geographical names coined by

their speakers. All writing in these languages is being conducted in the script of colonizing

powers, or, as in the case of the Inuit (Eskimos) of Canada, in new scripts especially developed

for them.

We now turn to pronunciation—the spoken form of a toponym.

One of the more severe problems of toponymy stems from the fact that geographical

names originate in so many different languages. Dealing with names therefore entails two

separate issues. The first is the matter of pronunciation and the second that of the written or

graphic expression of the name. Both problems must be addressed by the toponymist. The

spoken form of a geographical name is clearly the more basic and was chronologically the earlier

one. Writing, which evolved later, is the “freezing”, codification and storage of the spoken word,

by which it was converted from breath of mouth into a permanent or documentable form.

By pronunciation, we mean, in this instance, the proper, correct or standard

pronunciation—standard, that is, within the linguistic community concerned. Even between

individual members of the same linguistic community, one can find differences in the

pronunciation of a given toponym, for instance, in the placing of stress

(for example,

Newfoundland, as against Newfoundland and Newfoundland). However, let us assume that there

exists a standard pronunciation of a set of toponyms within a given linguistic community. Now if

this set of toponyms was presented to a different community, for example, to one consisting of

speakers of another mother tongue, in many cases, the members of this second group would

simply not be able to discern and hear, let alone pronounce, some of the sounds used by the first

linguistic community, at least not without lengthy study and practice. This fact leads to numerous

problems in toponymy and demonstrates that a person can approach "strange" sounds at best

only by reproducing them approximately, whether orally or in writing. This fact is of importance

and must be borne in mind by the investigator during interviews in fieldwork, because one of the

aims of applied toponymy is the standardization of geographical names for international use, as

in maps, atlases and gazetteers. There exists a more "refined" aid to the written expression of

speech sounds, namely, the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). We shall thus conclude by

asking the reader to bear in mind that, phonetically, geographical names can be standardized only

approximately in writing on an international level, for example, by romanization (see below).

100

Manual for the national standardization of geographical names

Transliteration, transcription and translation of geographical names

Members and staff of a national geographical names authority have to deal primarily with

endonyms (Glossary, 076). An endonym is the name of a geographical feature in the language or

languages occurring in the precinct where the feature is situated. However, under certain

circumstances, authorities have to consider the conversion of these endonyms through one or

more of four processes, namely, transliteration, transcription, translation and exonymization.

While exonymization is treated in part two, chapter VI, transliteration, transcription and

translation are dealt with below. However, these processes are not necessarily mutually

exclusive. Thus, an exonym can be formed through translation, for example, Kyašulynas in

Lithuanian for the former Cape Province in South Africa, or Black Sea for Turkish Kara Deniz.

Names conversion (Glossary, 041) is the process of transferring a name, and in particular

an endonym, from one language to another or from one script to a different one. This may

become necessary when the authority deals with, or is situated in, a multilingual country, and has

to standardize the names in two or more languages and/or scripts, or when the need arises in a

monolingual country to supply names in different scripts, either to its own citizens or to

institutions in another country.

Transliteration and diacriticsִ

The first method of names conversion to be considered by the names authority is

transliteration (Glossary, 352). The term is derived from the Latin word littera, meaning letter,

and indicates the basic concept: letter-for-letter transformation. Transliteration is a method of

names conversion between different scripts (and not between languages). In principle, each

graphic character in the source script, whether alphabetic or syllabic (though not logographic), is

replaced by a corresponding character of the target script. However, since different scripts often

(and, indeed, usually) represent different sounds, certain single characters or character

combinations of the source script are represented or replaced in transliteration not by just one

character such as a single letter, but by letter combinations, for example, two letters (digraphs),

three (trigraphs) or even four (tetragraphs). Often even this is not enough, and the target script

then makes use of special graphic signs called diacritical marks or simply diacritics (Glossary,

064). True transliteration aims at (but does not always achieve) complete reversibility, so that a

person reading a toponym in the target script will be able to reconstruct its original form in the

source script, if he/she is familiar with it. Transliteration can be applied between different

alphabetic and syllabic scripts where, in principle, a particular graphic character always

represents the same sound. It cannot be rigorously applied to logographic scripts such as Chinese

and Japanese Kanji, where a graphic character represents meaning and not just sound.

Let us take the example of transliteration from Greek into Roman script. The endonym of

the capital of Greece, in Greek script, is AșȒȞĮ. We can decide that for the letter ș we will

substitute the Roman digraph th. In transliteration, AșȒȞĮ then becomes Athína. If the reader

knows Greek script (but does not necessarily understand the Greek language), he or she can

reconstruct the original form AșȒȞĮ from the transliterated form Athína (only approximately,

because for complete reversibility the letter í should be underscored). This is called

retransliteration

(Glossary,

278). However, the reader must be supplied with a so-called

transliteration key

(Glossary, 354), which specifies the one-to-one correspondence between

Greek and Roman characters.

101

Language and the conversion of geographical names

Now consider transliteration from Russian Cyrillic script into Roman script. Here we take

as an example the Cyrillic letter ɑ, which has no equivalent in Roman script. However, we can

represent its sound (which in English is represented by ch and in German by tsch) by substituting

the Roman letter c, together with a graphic marker, thus þ. This marker (and others such as ˆ, ˜,

and many more above, through and below the letters) is called a diacritical sign, or simply a

diacritic (Glossary, 064). Its main purpose is to change or modify the phonetic value, in other

words, the sound, of an existing basic letter. Sometimes diacritics are used to distinguish

between homonyms (Glossary, 130), or similar names, such as Rovne and Rovné in Slovakia.

Up to this point, we have been discussing alphabetic scripts where transliteration

alphabets are used as transliteration keys. Transliteration is applicable also to syllabic scripts

(Glossary, 294). Thus, Japanese Katakana characters for k-syllables, for example, are similarly

represented in Roman script by ka, ki, ku, ke, ko. A list of rules for transliterating from a syllabic

to an alphabetic script is called a transliteration syllabary.

While the above were general examples of transliteration, they happen to illustrate the

special case of transliteration into Roman script, which is called romanization (Glossary, 280).

Its particular importance is such that the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical

Names and the United Nations Conferences on the Standardization of Geographical Names have

called upon all countries whose script is not Roman to adopt a single agreed system of

transliteration converting their script into Roman, to be adopted also by the United Nations. This

is referred to as the single romanization principle. Such a case may have to be taken up by a

national authority on geographical names. Sometimes the rules for romanization are developed

and prescribed by an academic body such as an academy of language or a university, but the

names authority may be called upon to prepare the list of romanized names in its country to be

included in its national geographical names database.

Transliteration has advantages and disadvantages. Its main benefit (though this is not

always fully achieved) is reversibility, which turns it into a useful tool. A national cartographic

institute in a country with non-Roman script that wishes to produce different language editions of

its maps (for example, for foreign tourists), can print its maps using Roman script for readers of

any language, be it French, Spanish, English, Turkish, Zulu, etc., in a single version. The

institute can achieve this without needing to change the spelling of hundreds or perhaps

thousands of its toponyms in different language editions (there is such a need if transcription is

used (see below)), and would require only a translation of the legend of conventional signs into

the various languages, as well as providing the romanization key (Glossary, 281).

The chief disadvantage of a transliteration system is that it is "good for everybody but

perfect for nobody" because the diacritics and special letters introduced often have no meaning

in the scripts of the various languages. This is the reason why a transliteration key is required for

each language (in the above case, a romanization key in French, Spanish, etc.). However, for the

map or atlas producer this is a less costly option than converting and reprinting the entire body of

toponyms in the atlas or map (even though, in the end, it is usually the customer who pays

the bill).

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Transcriptionִ

The previous paragraphs demonstrated how the sounds of a toponym can be converted

from one script to another via transliteration. It is primarily used for converting local endonyms

into a foreign script, as in the case of romanization. Transcription, on the other hand, is

predominantly used to convert the sounds of foreign languages into the script of a local language.

While this does not concern a geographical names authority to a great extent, transcription may

have to be used by the authority in order to make its own romanization system understandable to

foreign readers, as described below.

Transliteration transposes a name from one script to another. Transcription (Glossary,

346), from the Latin word scribere, meaning to write, is the written conversion of the endonymic

form of a toponym from one language to another, using the script of the target language only,

without having recourse, as has transliteration, to additional or special letters, diacritics or other

markers. Perhaps the greatest advantage of transcription lies in the fact that a reader of the target

language who wishes to pronounce a foreign name will be able to read it. If the name was

presented to him/her via transliteration, he/she would probably stumble over it and its diacritics.

While it may sound strange to the ear and be strange to the articulating vocal system of the

reader, he/she can, when reading it in transcription, at least approximate the spoken form without

any outside help such as a transliteration key. The reader can approximate the spoken form, that

is, as far as the sounds included in his/her language can reproduce those of the foreign name, and

its script can reproduce them, or rather direct the reader how to reproduce them in vocal

articulation, that is, in speaking.

Transcription, constituting the second of the methods of names conversion, is thus the

purely phonetic transformation of a name, in writing, from one language to another. It was the

method resorted to by former explorers and discoverers as well as other travellers who did try to

retain, for later use, the sound of the foreign names that they had heard and learned from

endemic populations. This they did not only for their own use, but for the benefit of later

navigators and travellers, mainly through the services of cartographers who permanently

recorded and published the names.

Transcription is usually a non-reversible process. This means that after a toponym has

been transcribed from one language into another, retranscribing it into the original source

language does not necessarily produce the original name. This is a distinct drawback for anybody

who wishes to reconstruct the name form in its original script from the transcribed form that has

been found in a map or text. The following example will make this clear.

Transcribing the English name Chichester into German, for example, in a school atlas,

would result in Tschitschester, which is nearest to expressing the sounds of the original source

language in the script of the target language without resorting to special symbolization. But now

trying to retranscribe Tschitschester into English (something a native reader of the German atlas

might wish to do in order to learn the spelling of the original English endonym) could result in

Tshitshester, Tchitchester, Tshitchester or Tchittshester, besides the original Chichester.

After what might appear to be a theoretical example, here are some real ones. ǯǹȖȜĮȖȖȚȐ

in Cyprus is pronounced approximately Aglangiá and appears as such in transcription into

Turkish

(and Roman script). Retranscribed it might become ǯǹȖȜĮvȖȚȐ. Worse: ȂʌȠȖȐȗȚ,

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pronounced Bogázi, would be retranscribed into Greek, which has no letter for the Turkish b, as

BȠȖȐȗȚ, which would sound like Vogázi. AȖțĮȡĮ for Ankara, retranscribed as Agkara, presents

a similar problem.

As a result of this non-reversibility, and because of the adaptation to the target language,

transcription can be regarded as a "popular"—not a

“professional”—method of names

conversion. One of its main uses is in the production of a general world atlas in any particular

language, a topic not dealt with here.

A name’s being readily "pronounceable", albeit regarded as an advantage, can be seen in

a different light, particularly in maps, where it may become a disadvantage from an economic

viewpoint. It was made clear previously that a cartographic establishment, especially in a country

having a non-Roman script, using transliteration (and not phonetic transcription) would have to

print only a single romanized version of a map for speakers of different Roman-writing

languages. Only the map legend would have to be supplied to the reader in his or her preferred

language, together with the romanization key, perhaps in a separate publication or print. The

romanization key has to be explained to the foreign reader in his or her own language and this

must be done via transcription. For example, for English readers of romanized Arabic place

names the (transcription) item “kh = pronounced as in the ch in Scottish loch” must appear in the

romanization key.

Let us take the example of an English map of the Russian Federation using United

Nations-approved romanization. The romanization key for Russian states that the Cyrillic letter ɱ

is represented by þ. This would be unintelligible to the English reader and therefore the

transcription note "pronounced as English ch" should be added. For the Cyrillic letter ɳ , the

transcription note would be "pronounced as English shch".

Translationִ

Translation (Glossary, 350), dealt with here, and exonymization (Glossary, exonym,

081), dealt with in part two, chapter VI, transplant a toponym linguistically from a source to a

target language. Unlike transliteration and transcription, they do not attempt to preserve either

an endonym’s original spoken form or its written one but are concerned instead with the problem

of how to name a place, rather than how to write that place’s endemic name.

By definition, translation is the expression of meaning of a word in a given language, the

source language, in terms of another, the target language. To what extent does this process apply

to geographical names?

One of the differences between a proper name such as a toponym, and a common name

or other words, is that whereas the latter can be found together with their meanings in an

ordinary dictionary or lexicon (we therefore speak of lexical translation), the former, that is to

say, the geographical name, will usually be found only in a geographical dictionary or gazetteer.

Translation can be employed as a method of names conversion only if the source

toponym, wholly or in part, has semantic or lexical meaning, in other words, only if it can be

found in an ordinary dictionary. This rules out translation of many one-word names such as

London, Pretoria, Sydney, Kassel and Nantes, unless one returns to the historical or linguistic

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root of the name in a diachronic (historical) process and examines its meaning, but then one

would have to substitute the Latin Castellum for Kassel in German, translating it by Castle

(English), Château

(French), Qasr

(Arabic), Kastélli

(Greek), Castillo

(Spanish) or some

equivalent in another language.

Translation, being the conversion of a toponym from one language to another, requires

that the target language be specified explicitly or implicitly.

Above, the phrase "wholly or in part" was used in reference to a toponym’s having

semantic or lexical meaning. In a composite name (Glossary, 212) the parts are (a) the generic

component, which is always a word with lexical meaning such as river, hill, town, bridge, new,

etc.; and (b) the specific component which may be any word, lexical or not, such as a proper

name and even a toponym, for example, “Victoria” in “Lake Victoria”, “York” in “New York”

and “Swansea” in “Swansea Bay”. In some languages, both components are often combined in a

single word, as in Cambridge, Newport, Villeneuve and Rheinbischofsheim, while in other

languages, such as Arabic and Hebrew, this is impossible.

However, it should be added that generics can be true or false. Lake Victoria is a real

lake, therefore, its generic component is a true one. On the other hand, Lake Placid in New York

State is not a lake but a populated place; and 'Ayn as-SultƗn is a populated place, not a spring

(Arabic 'ayn). Thus, in these cases, lake and spring are false generics (Glossary, 111).

When is translation resorted to in names conversion? Chiefly when the toponym includes

a "translateable" generic term. Naturally, toponyms are often translated when one deals with

topographic features outside one's own linguistic region. A common case is that of the

cartographic editor preparing a general atlas in a particular language. He or she will be sure to

translate some of the names in "foreign" lands, so that they will better convey to the reader the

nature of the feature named. General geographical or other texts, too, often make use of names

translation.

However, here we are mainly concerned with a geographical names authority. Its

members, too, may have to apply translation, for example, in a multilingual country like South

Africa which has 11 official languages. Take the case of the English name Cape Town: its

Afrikaans (and formerly Dutch) name is Kaapstad, and the two names are translations of each

other and enjoy equal administrative status. The city's Xhosa name eKapa ("at the cape") is not a

translation but an adaptation of the Afrikaans kaap. In the Afrikaans name Mossel Baai, only the

generic term is translated, so that the town now carries the allonyms Mossel Baai and Mossel

Bay. In such cases, the translated names and the original ones constitute endonyms, even (though

not necessarily) standardized and official ones, as decreed by the names authority. If the names

are not of equal administrative status, the names authority should determine the order of

preference.

On deciding to translate a toponym, one must check it for meaning and "isolate" its

translatable parts. Speaking very generally, four possibilities concerning translation present

themselves.

1. The name under consideration is a simple non-translatable one or is not to be translated

for other reasons. Some examples were presented above (London, Pretoria, etc.).

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2. The name is of the composite type, being composed of a specific and a generic element,

in either order. Generalizing, there are then the following possibilities:

(a) Only the generic element is translated. Examples: Sliabh Speirin (Irish)—Sperrin

Mountains; Simonstad (Afrikaans)—Simon's Town;

(b) Translation is applied only to the specific element or elements of the name: Sierra

del sur (Spanish)—Southern Sierra; Pacific Ocean—Stiller Ozean (German);

Mountain; Suomenlahti (Finnish)—Finskaviken (Swedish).

In many cases, the specific component, though not translated, is adapted to the target

language, as in the example of Speirin/Sperrin in 2(a) above, while in 2(b), Ocean/Ozean can

also be regarded as an adaptation, both words being derived from Greek/Latin, rather than a

translation.

The three processes of names conversion—transliteration, transcription and translation—

require different qualifications on the part of the toponymist. Transliteration and transcription are

involved with writing systems on the one hand and with pronunciation on the other, while

translation demands a knowledge of languages. A good toponymist will combine skills

encompassing these areas of linguistics.

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Chapter III

Some examples of legislation concerning geographical

names authorities¹

Helen Kerfoot (Canada)²

Legislation for the establishment of national

(and/or provincial, State and territorial)

geographical names authorities has been noted as constituting an important step towards

demonstrating the legal competence of the commission, council or board to carry out its

standardization work.

The types of legal documents, and the details included in the relevant laws, vary from

country to country. In any jurisdiction, these documents are reviewed periodically, to make sure

that the names authority can function in a way appropriate to current political, administrative,

linguistic and cultural conditions.

Already in the nineteenth century—and, in some cases, even earlier—many countries had

passed laws and regulations applying directly or indirectly to the standardization of geographical

names. Most national mapping authorities have been established by law and have thereby gained

the power to determine the spelling of names used on official maps. In order to stabilize the

written form of geographical names in official contexts, many authorities produced lists of

recommended spellings. For example, in 1863, Norway passed an act concerning the cadastral

system of the country, including the updating of the spelling of farm names. The revised

standardized names were approved by government legislation in 1886 and published in 18

volumes (Norges matrikul).

The present chapter provides a few examples of the types of legislation that have been

used throughout the world since the late 1800s. Different models are used in different countries,

and the inclusion or omission of particular examples is not intended to imply that any one model

is better than another. Those involved with the establishment of geographical names authorities

today will hopefully find this material useful as background information, while clearly

recognizing the need to develop legislation appropriate to their own particular circumstances.

Establishment of national names authorities

It appears that the first national names authority to be established was the United States

Board on Geographic Names (USBGN), created by Executive Order of the President, Benjamin

Harrison, in 1890. At a time of mapping associated with exploration, mining and settlement of

the west, this federal body was given authority to resolve all unsettled questions concerning

geographical names. Decisions of the Board were accepted as binding for all departments and

agencies of the Federal Government. In 1906, Board responsibilities were extended to include

¹ In some examples cited in the present chapter, the term “place name” (or “placename”) is meant in the sense of

“geographical name” in other words, it does not represent the name only of a populated place.

² With contributions from Peeter Päll (Estonia) and Botolv Helleland (Norway).

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authority to standardize all geographical names for federal use (including both new names and

names changes).

The Board was established in its present form by Congress in 1947, through Public Law

80-242.³ Important provisions of the law determine that:

•

The Board and the Secretary of the Interior jointly shall provide for uniformity in

geographical nomenclature and orthography throughout the federal Government.

•

The Board shall comprise members from specified federal departments (as well as

from relevant agencies), appointed for two-year (renewable) terms. Board members

receive no special financial compensation for this work.

•

The Chair shall be nominated by the Board, and appointed by the Secretary of the

Interior, who may also establish advisory committees.

•

The Board, subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, shall develop

principles, policies and procedures governing the use of both domestic and foreign

geographical names (as well as undersea and Antarctic feature names), and decides

on the standardized names for official use.

•

The decisions and principles shall constitute the standard for all material published

by the federal Government.

Although established to serve the federal Government as a central authority to which all

name problems, name enquiries and new name proposals could be directed, the Board also plays

a similar role for the general public. In its operation, the Board has two sub-units, one dealing

with domestic names and the other with foreign names.

Shortly after the establishment of the United States Board on Geographic Names,

Canada’s first Order of the Privy Council to establish a names board was issued in 1897. The

reasons for its creation were similar to those of the United States, as settlement expanded

westward across the land. In contrast to the United States Board, the Canadian Board, very soon

after its formation, took into account the authority of the provinces in the decision-making

process, and by the 1960s, all provinces (and in the 1980s, the territories) had responsibility for

naming in their areas of jurisdiction. Since 1897, several updates have been passed to the

original Order in Council; the most recent (1990)⁴ established the Geographical Names Board of

Canada as the “national body coordinating all matters affecting geographical nomenclature in

Canada”, pursuant to which:

•

Membership is as follows: federal government members are noted by department and

position (currently 11, representing such interests as mapping, charting, geological

survey, defence, aboriginal affairs, archives, translation, parks, statistics, and postal

services). Each province (10) and territory (3) appoints a member, and chairpersons

of advisory committees (currently 2) are members of the Board while holding office.

³ See Donald J. Orth and Roger L. Payne, Principles, Policies, and Procedures: Domestic Geographic Names, rev.

3^rd printing (Reston Virginia, United States Board on Geographic Names, 1997).

⁴ Order establishing the Geographical Names Board of Canada, P.C. 2000-283, March 22, 1990.

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•

The Chairperson is appointed by the Minister of the responsible department (Natural

Resources Canada); the Secretariat, and the funding of activities of the Board, also

fall under the jurisdiction of the same department.

•

The functions and power of the Board are noted, including the fact that “name

decisions approved by the appropriate federal, provincial or territorial authority,

according to its respective jurisdiction, shall become official decisions of the Board”.

All departments, agencies and Crown corporations of the Government of Canada

shall accept and abide by decisions of the Board.

•

The organization of the Board is established; it shall meet at least once per year; no

remuneration is provided for participation, but travel and living expenses may be

paid.

Many other countries have established names authorities since the inception of the first

national names authority. These include, according to information received from experts

belonging to the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names:⁵

•

Denmark (1910)

•

New Zealand and Ireland (both in 1946)

•

At least seven countries in the 1950s and 1960s, for example, the Federal Republic

of Germany (1959) and Botswana (1967)

•

Ten or more countries in the 1970s and 1980s, for example, Brunei Darussalam

(1976), Jordan (1984), Australia (1985) and Venezuela (1989)

•

Thirteen so far in the 1990s and the current decade, for example, Lithuania (1990),

Thailand (1992), the Sudan (1996), and the Islamic Republic of Iran (2000).

As one can see, several countries have been active in establishing or re-establishing

names authorities in the last 20 years. For instance, in Hungary, the Hungarian Committee on

Geographical Names functions as an interdepartmental decision-making and advisory board⁶

under the umbrella of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (also responsible for

mapping). Government Decree 71/1989, amended by Decree 19/1992, forms the legal basis for

the Committee. Membership includes representatives from national mapping, departments of

both domestic and foreign affairs, transport, geographical science, education and higher learning,

experts in linguistics, local authorities, minorities, major map publishers and the national press.

The Committee, which meets from three to five times a year, rules on names of physical and

transportation features, and provides advice on the names of administrative units. Particular

attention is paid to orthography. Recommending the treatment of names outside Hungary for

Hungarian use is also a task of the Committee.

⁵ Based on information gathered from a questionnaire circulated to countries participating in the Eighth United

Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names held in Berlin in 2002. Also, see part two, chap.

X for information on websites of names authorities.

⁶ See “Report of Hungary on the activity of the standardization of geographical names in the period 1998-2002”

(E/CONF.94/INF.10) to the Eighth United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names,

Berlin, 2002.

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