Place Names How They Define the World And More

This book provides a comprehensive review of the dynamic field of geographic naming through the eyes of an expert; it is a vital addition to any library's collection of up-to-date research materials. After showing the political importance of place names for military and diplomatic reasons, with special reference to U.S. experiences, Randall concludes with a survey of name disputes and examines an assortment of unusual and controversial location names.

Richard R. Randall has a Ph.D. in geography from Clark University. He retired from his position as executive secretary of the U.S. Board of Geographic Names in 1993 after holding the position for twenty years.

Preface

ix

Introduction

xiii

Shortened Versions of Organization Names

xvii

Part I. The Nature of a Place Name

1

(24)

What Is a Place Name?

3

(8)

Definition and Function

3

(2)

Origins of Place Names

5

(1)

Categories of Place Names

6

(5)

Regional Names

11

(6)

International Regional Names

11

(2)

Regional Names within Countries

13

(2)

Large Bodies of Water

15

(2)

Maps Say Little without Place Names

17

(8)

Purposes of a Map

17

(1)

Map Characteristics

18

(1)

Mapping Techniques

19

(1)

U.S. Mapping Agencies

20

(3)

Commercial Maps

23

(1)

Ecology and Maps

23

(2)

Part II. How Place Names Affect Us

25

(28)

How Place Names Communicate

27

(14)

Inform Us about Our World

27

(1)

Identify Aspects of Our Lives

27

(4)

Provide Historical Information

31

(1)

Describe the Nature of Terrain

32

(1)

Common Words

33

(1)

Animal Names

34

(1)

Family Names

34

(1)

Automobile Names

35

(1)

Food and Beverage Names

36

(1)

Railroad Names

36

(1)

Mineral Names

37

(4)

Place Names and the Arts

41

(12)

Literature

41

(3)

Music

44

(5)

Paintings and Photographs

49

(4)

Part III. Place Names Are Not Permanent

53

(16)

Where in the World Is That Place?

55

(8)

Names in the Headlines

55

(1)

The Iron Curtain Is Lifted

55

(1)

The Former Yugoslavia

56

(1)

Other Countries Changed Names

57

(1)

Names in the Middle East

58

(1)

Names in Southeast Asia

58

(2)

The Persian Gulf or the Arabian Gulf

60

(1)

A Case of Names in Headlines of the Past

60

(1)

Names in Future Headlines

61

(2)

Names in Multilingual Countries

63

(6)

Different Languages, Different Names

63

(1)

How Many Languages Are There?

64

(1)

Examples of Differing Place Names

64

(5)

Part IV. Efforts to End the Confusion

69

(50)

Countries Recognize the Problem

71

(10)

The Situation in the United States

71

(1)

Creation of the U.S. Board on Geographic Names

72

(1)

The United States Addresses Writing Systems of Foreign Names

73

(1)

Military Needs Required the Reestablishment of the Board

73

(1)

The Board Is Reorganized

74

(2)

Other National and International Bodies

76

(5)

The United Nations Joins the Effort

81

(10)

The United Nations Looks at Place Names

81

(1)

U.N. Group of Experts on Geographical Names

82

(3)

How U.N. Programs Work

85

(2)

Future U.N. Efforts

87

(4)

A Need for Place Names Where People Don't Live

91

(6)

Undersea Features

91

(2)

Antarctican Features

93

(1)

Extraterrestrial Features

94

(3)

The Terminology of Names

97

(10)

Why Is Terminology Needed?

97

(1)

Is It a Place Name, a Geographic Name, a Geographical Name, or a Toponym?

98

(1)

Specific and Generic Terms

99

(1)

Names of Cities, Counties, States, and Countries

99

(1)

Names Defined as ``False Generics''

100

(1)

Conventional Names

100

(1)

Short and Long Forms of Names

101

(1)

Standardization of Names

102

(1)

Categorization of Place Names

102

(1)

Designations

103

(1)

Variations of Terminology

104

(3)

If Your Language Is English, How Do You Write or Pronounce Arabic or Russian Names?

107

(8)

Converting Names from One Language or Writing System to Others

107

(1)

Languages and Writing Systems

108

(1)

Translation, Romanization, Transliteration, and Transcription

109

(1)

U.S. and U.K. Romanization Systems

110

(1)

Pronunciation of Place Names

111

(4)

Gazetteers

115

(4)

Part V. U.S. and International Names Programs during and after the Cold War

119

(16)

The Cold War

121

(4)

The Cold War Impact on U.N. Names Programs

121

(1)

Soviet Maps with Incorrect Names

122

(3)

The U.S. Department of State

125

(2)

U.S. Intelligence Agencies

127

(2)

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization

129

(4)

After the Cold War

133

(2)

Part VI. Interesting and Unusual Names

135

(18)

Names in Dispute

137

(8)

Some Disputes in the United States

137

(2)

Some Disputes in Foreign Areas

139

(3)

Names Common to the United States and Canada

142

(3)

Unusual and Unacceptable Names

145

(8)

Long Names

145

(1)

Short Names

146

(1)

Names with Common Endings

146

(1)

Names with Unusual Origins

147

(1)

A Request for an Animal-Friendly Place Name

147

(1)

How Many Great Lakes Are There?

147

(1)

Common Names in the United States

148

(1)

The Shortest River in the United States

148

(1)

Where Is a Town Called Lake Wobegon?

148

(1)

A Punctuation Mark Means a New Name?

149

(1)

The Last Name in Any Gazetteer

149

(1)

Unacceptable Names in the United States

150

(3)

Afterword

153

(2)

Appendix A. Common Words Derived from Place Names

155

(4)

Appendix B. Independent States of the World

159

(8)

Appendix C. Structure and Working Procedures of the U.S. Board on Geographic Names

167

(8)

Appendix D. Excerpts from BGN Gazetteers of Undersea Features and Antarctic Names

175

(2)

Appendix E. Examples of Conventional Names

177

(2)

Appendix F. Selected Place Names from the BGN Digital Gazetteer of Austria

179

(2)

Appendix G. Comparative Examples of Selected Russian Cyrillic

181

(2)

Appendix H. BGN/PCGN Romanization System for Serbo-Croation Cyrillic

183

(2)

Appendix I. Accessing Information about Foreign and U.S. Domestic Place Names Processed by the BGN

185

(4)

Appendix J. U.S. and Other Sources of Information about Place Names

189

(2)

Sources Cited

191

(2)

Useful Published Sources

193

(4)

Index

197

(6)

About the Author

203

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Place Names How They Define the World And More

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Place Names How They Define the World And More

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

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