sign in sign up
<<
Home , Endonym and exonym, German exonyms, List of long place names

EXONYMS IN CARTOGRAPHY Ferjan ORMELING

Introduction Another decision is necessary on behalf of renderings of geographical where diacritical marks have not There is some confusion in the UNGEGN about the ter- been applied because these were not current in the avail- minology, but the definition still valid for exonyms is: able typesetting equipment. A number of them, like the “geographical names used in a certain for geo- tilde, hacek and trema, might be available, but others like graphical entities situated outside the area where that lan- the polish slashed l or the Danish slashed o not. Geo- guage has official status and differing in its form from the graphical names without their proper diacritical marks used in the official language or of the are not considered as exonyms by the UNGEGN. In most area where the geographical entity is situated” (Second reference atlases all diacritical marks are included, United Conference on the Standardization of except for Vietnamese, which has so many diacritics, that Geographical Names ( 1972), New York 1974). the textual image of the map would suffer by including The other term, which is proposed to fit this definition, is them: Hà Nôi → Hanoi. ‘conventional name’. We will not use it here, as it is not the official UN term The omission or including of articles or case endings (Bolivia → La Bolivie; Ar-Riad → Riad; Malmberg → Exonyms are the reverse of endonyms; broadly speaking Malmberget) is not considered as changing a name into endonyms are the geographical names that belong to a an exonym either. The same goes for presenting the defi- language, and relate to objects within that language area, nite instead of the indefinite state. whilst exonyms are geographical names that belong to a language but refer to objects outside that language area, Names that are different because of the translation of broadly speaking. In Indonesia the geographical name their generic parts (cape, bay, sea, etc) are considered Indonesia is an endonym, whilst Negeri Belanda, is an exonyms by most experts, but there is no common Indonesian exonym for the . The reverse is opinion here. that Indonesië is the Dutch exonym for Indonesia, whilst The number of exonyms in use in various languages for the Dutch Nederland is an endonym. So endonyms forms only a small percentage of all the names used for are local official names whereas exonyms seldom have foreign geographical objects. In most cases the “local official status. names policy” is followed, that is the geographical names The following are some examples of exonyms (table 1): used correspond to those used in the respective countries Wien (German) Venezia (Italian) Norge (Norwegian) themselves. So the write Cherbourg, Stock- (Eng) (Eng) (Eng) holm, Buenos Aires; the British write , Barce- Vienne (Fr) Venise (Fr) Norvège (Fr) lona, Surabaya; the Dutch write Portsmouth, Newfound- Becs (Hung) Velence (Hung) Norvegia (Hung) land, München, etc, which conforms to the United Viena (Span) Venecia (Span) Noruegia (Span) Nations recommendation. But though it is only a small Wenen (Dutch) Venetië (Dutch) Noorwegen (Dutch) percentage of all the geographical names, the exonyms Wieden (Polish) Venedig (German) Norwegen(German) tend to designate the more important objects, and that is why they can be rather prominent on the face of small- Names transcribed from one alphabet or scale maps. into another could be regarded as exonyms as well, because they no longer have their local form. However, if As is expressed in the UNGEGN definition, an exonym this conversion has been done according to a system offi- differs from the name used in the official language or lan- cially recognized by UNGEGN they will not be regarded guages of the area in which the geographical object is as exonyms here. So Cel’abinsk, transcribed from located. This means that Strassburg is the German according to the officially accepted GOST exonym for the French city of , as German is 83 system is not regarded here as an exonym, whereas not the official language in , even if the city used Chelyabinsk (Eng), Tcheliabinsk (Fr) and Tscheljabinsk to be inhabited by German-speaking people. The capital (Ger) are. It is however more a subjective decision based of is officially bilingual, that is both Dutch and on grounds of expediency than a consequent and well- French have official status there. That means both argumented one. Brussel (Dutch) and Bruxelles (French) are endonyms,

119 while and Brüssel are respectively English and version is closer now to the original version than the for the same city. The differences Dutch one. between exonyms and endonyms may only be in one Similarly the French name versions of the cities in the letter or in the addition of a generic, but they may also French province of are closer to the names for look completely different: the Finnish exonym for the these cities in the local German than to the offi- Netherlands is Alankomaat ! cial German versions, which applied when the province The study of exonyms is essentially something for atlas was still German territory. map editors and journalists, and not meant for topogra- Sometimes gradual changes occur in of phers engaged in national mapping activities. Exonyms letters: the ending -in was at some moment in time pro- only begin playing a role when foreign parts are being nounced as -ine (written in Dutch as -ijn). The French represented on maps. As there can be rather important word “fin” was pronounced as “fine”. This led for differences between exonyms and the official names, this instance to the pronunciation in Dutch of as might pose problems in communication, and therefore Berline (Berlijn), and later to an adaptation of the orthog- the Group of Experts on Geographical raphy to this new pronunciation. Names recommends against the use of exonyms: they state that local names should be employed as much as The process of name changing might show sudden accel- possible. eration because of official spelling reforms or changes in the official transcription systems. In the 1970ies the Of course the United Nations can not interfere with the People’s Republic of introduced the tran- words and names in any particular language; any lan- scription system for the transfer of Chinese characters guage community has the right to use its own linguistic into the Roman alphabet, whereby Peking was changed resources in naming the world around it, a right that into , Canton into , etc. In order to cannot be taken away or restricted by any outside author- homogenize the spelling of Bahasa Indonesia and Bahasa ityi. But on behalf of better communication between Malaysia, the “tj” in Indonesia was changed into “c”: nations, the UN can offer guidelines, and show the Atjeh became Aceh, Tjilatjap became Cilacap, Tjipanas advantages of a reduction of exonyms. became Cipanas. In Belgium spelling reforms in the in the 1930ies were also applied to geo- graphical names; in the Netherlands the same reforms up 2. The origin of exonyms till now were only applied to minor geographical names like street names. Exonyms emerge when these name Names are subject to change. Jayakarta became Jakarta, changes due to orthographic reforms are not followed by Amstelredam became , Londinium became other countries. When a country would say that they had London. There are only a few places that today bear 400 years relations with Atjeh, it would be written Atjeh exactly the same name as two thousand years ago; in their history books and in their language, it would be in is an example. During this process of continuous their right to keep the old name, I suppose, but this name change nations come into contact with each other, version would turn into an exonym, as it is now spelled because of trade or war, they learn the names of geo- Aceh officially. graphical objects in each other’s country, they adapt them possibly to their own language structure, and codify these In most cases, however, exonyms originate due to a names. Meanwhile the process of name changing goes on process of adaptation of the names to other languages. in both countries, usually at a different pace and seldom They emerge at some time during contacts, at some phase in the same direction. Thus, even if originally the names in the process of continuing change. As soon as they have for a specific geographical object may be similar in both been adopted into another language, they follow the same countries, with the progress of time these name versions development as all other words in this language, so might drift from each other, unless very close links for the same object will each go remain. their separate ways. In the 12th century the name of the Dutch-speaking city Only those geographical objects will have their names which is the present capital of Belgium was Broeksele. turned into exonyms that have some specific importance This name was rendered by the French phonetically as at some time. Those will either be important objects like Bruxelles. In the Dutch language community the name capitals or large rivers or objects close to the border of Broeksele gradually changed into Brussel, so the French other language areas.

i J. Breu – Exonyms in Cartography. pp 274–279 in: W.Ritchie, J.C. Stone, A.S. Mather (Eds), Essays for Professor R.E.H. Mellor. Aberdeen, Uni- versity of Aberdeen 1986.

120 3. Classification of exonyms the emergence of exonyms: this would be valid both for not adhering to the Roman Alphabet Rule (Con- Exonyms may be subdivided into pronunciation exonyms stanta → Konstantsa) and for not adhering to the offi- and orthographic exonyms. The first are visually similar cial transcription or transliteration systems propa- to endonyms but would be pronounced differently, i.e. gated by Donor countries. → according to the pronunciation of the alphabet in the Blagoweschtschensk instead of Blagovescensk respective countries. Orthographic exonyms are spelled differently from endonyms. Though they look different, b) Exonyms due to adaptation. This category groups they may sound similar, when pronounced; their spelling those exonyms that are so different from their in another language may be a phonetical rendering endonyms that they cannot be explained by a simple (Mouscroun – Moeskroen). As cartographers, dependant transcription. These could be more or less phonetical upon images, we will disregard this difference between renderings; name parts that are not understood could pronunciation and orthographic exonyms – we will only be omitted, generics might be added, semantic adjust- concern ourselves with differences in spelling. ment or phonetic rules might have been applied. Exonyms may be subdivided also into contemporary, and Examples: historical or obsolete exonyms. Contemporary exonyms Kobenhavn → Kopenhagen are used in everyday speech. Examples in Dutch are Sverige → Zweden Parijs for and Lissabon for Lisboa. Historical or France → Frankrijk obsolete exonyms are exonyms that are no longer used. Kaapstad → Le Cap They will have been superseded by other exonyms or by Schweiz → the official local names. The Dutch exonym for the Baltic Ecuador → L’Equateur used to be Oostzee. Nowadays it is being replaced by Aachen → Aix-la-Chapelle Baltische Zee; the local name would be Ostsee. Other c) Exonyms due to separate development from a examples for historical exonyms are Plijmuiden (17th common origin. Examples here are the old German century form for Plymouth), Ossenvoorde (for Oxford), name Leudeke that was, indepently, turned into the Kales (for Calais). French Liège, the German Lüttich and the Dutch Exonyms, both contemporary and historical, should be Luik. Similarly the Roman name Colonia was turned distinguished from historical names, as Batavia, Lenin- into the German Köln, the French and the grad, Léopoldville (for Jakarta, St.Petersburg and Kin- Dutch Keulen. The Roman name Aquis Grani was shasa), i.e. names which for a long time were locally used turned into German Aachen, French Aix-la Chapelle, and valid and were accepted in many other languages. It Italian Aquisgrana, Polish Akwizgran, etc. will be clear that a contemporary toponym, due to polit- d) Exonyms that emerge from origins different from that ical developments can deteriorate into a historical name, of the endonyms: The official name of is as happened to Lourenco Marques, Buitenzorg, Léopold- Hellas; the Romans called it Greece, because the ville, or may survive as an exonym, as happened with the Greek area closest to Italy was inhabited by a Greek German names of places in former German territories called the Graeci, while to the east it is called now in , such as Breslau, Stettin now called Wro- Junani, because of the Ionians that lived on the shores claw and . An exonym can evolve into a histor- of Asia Minor. Similar reasons caused the French ical or obsolete exonym. Endonyms may turn into con- name Allemagne for (because the German temporary exonyms and later into historical exonyms, as tribe nearest to France were the Alemanni) and the with the Dutch town of Kales which was called Calais by Finnish name Saksa. The French name of the German the French when they occupied it. Finally, historical city of Regensburg is Ratisbonne, derived from the names can be promoted to contemporary toponyms as original Roman name of Radaspona. The German happened in former colonies where, after emancipation, name originated from the river Regen on which the old historical names were restored: Ghana, Zimbabwe, town is situated. Kalimantan, Jakarta. e) Exonyms due to translations, in those cases that also When categorizing exonyms on the basis of their devel- the specific parts of geographical names can be trans- opment, the following subdivision might be made: lated. So the German mountain area Schwarzwald is a) Exonyms that result from transcription. Application Black Forest in English and Forêt Noire in French. of all non-official transcription systems would lead to The Bahr al Ahmar is Red Sea in English, Österreich

121 (“Eastern Empire”) is Oostenrijk in Dutch. When from country to country. It was easier for a country like only generics are translated (Cape Hatteras → Kap the German Democratic Republic to give up German Hatteras) geographical names are not always consid- names for geographical objects in Eastern Europe than ered exonyms. for the Federal Republic of Germany. One should take care in translating generic parts that gen- itives or other case endings such as for the definite are not retained. These may make it difficult to establish 5. Arguments used within the UNGEGN the basic form of the modified specific elements. We want the real name, not some derivative. For instance the Various approaches are adopted by the experts (linguists, Russian Aleksandra Arkhipelag means the Archipelago historians, geographers and cartographers) who have of Alexander, not an Archipelago named for Alexandra. been recently concentrating on the recommendations of In the Czech name Michiganske Jezero, Michiganske is the U.N. These can be categorized as follows: an adjective, and its basic form is Michigan. – the nationalistic approach, which is in favor of main- taining all exonyms and which is opposed conse- quently to their limitation. An extreme version of this conviction is found amongst those diehards who 4. UN policy towards exonyms desire the revival of historical exonyms that is of One of the results of the 1972 London Conference on the names that have become obsolete because of histor- Standardization of Geographical Names was the recom- ical events. mendation to U.N.member countries to limit the use of – the internationalist or idealistic view, adherents of exonyms, a recommendation which was repeated in a which are opposed to the use of exonyms, with the clearer and more concise way during the confer- exception of a limited number of names such as ence in 1977. However, the U.N. experts quickly discov- Rome, Vienna, etc., which seem to be indestructible. ered that exonyms form part of a delicate subject matter, The advocates of this view would like nothing better encircled by obstacles, some of them political, which cre- than to precisely carry out the recommendations of ated the need for careful maneuvering. It was understood the U.N. and to completely substitute exonyms with from the start that the final decision concerning the the local names. reduction of exonyms and the extent to which this should happen, should be left to the competence of each indi- – the intermediary approach adopted by linguistic vidual country. Seen from this angle the recommended experts who hold the view that the vocabulary of a limitation can only be treated as a long-term project. language is subject to changes and that these changes also entail a slow but steady modification in the use It was also perceived at an early stage of the discussion of exonyms. To them it is possible to speed up this that the exonym problem differs from country to country, natural process, as it is also conceivable that some and from language to language, according to the geo- exonyms could be retained together with the local graphical, historical and linguistic situation. In a mar- names, by certain categories of users. itime country like the Netherlands, having always been engaged in international traffic and trade, where people The above-mentioned views are reflected in the various have learned to live with foreign languages, the limitation ways in which foreign toponyms are handled in current of exonyms will cause fewer problems than in less inter- atlases, in which the following variations are found: nationally-oriented countries. But this approach also 1. Exonyms without additional local names (e.g. in cur- stems from our present unimportant position in the World rent West-German school atlases: Neufundland, theatre: when we were a super power in the seventeenth Oberersee, Elfenbeinküste (for Newfoundland, century, we expected people to learn Dutch. Superior, ) There is little difference of opinion amongst the 2. Exonyms with additional local names in brackets: UNGEGN experts on the desirability to remove the Arnheim (Arnhem), (Milano), (Praha) exonym problem from the tense field of international politics. Names to be avoided are those overtaken by his- 3. Local names with additional exonyms in brackets: torical events, the use of which in the current context can Warszawa (Warschau), Wien (Vienna), Lisboa (Lis- be conceived as propaganda for historical claims or neo- bon) colonial ideas. Naturally the ways to achieve this differ

122 4. Local names without additional exonyms, a method, cation of geographical objects and consequently leads which is mainly, followed in large reference atlases to confusion. Why use “incorrect names” (exonyms) for international use. when “correct names” (=local names) are available? Often atlas editors treat foreign toponyms in their atlases – The maintenance of a large number of exonyms in the in an unsystematic way, in the sense that examples of all vocabulary of a language forms an unnecessary four above variants can be found in one atlas, even on one burden on the memory. and the same map sheet. On a map of Africa in and atlas – The maintenance of exonyms, particularly of histor- recently published in the Netherlands the following ical exonyms, is often interpreted as an attempt to chaotic combination of names can be found: Maputo advertise reactionary, neo-colonial ideas or of territo- (current local name for Lourenco Marques), rial claims on the places or territories named by the (Dutch exonym for the Lybian capital of Tarabulus), exonym by the exonym-using group. Alger/ (respectively French and Dutch exonyms for Al Jezair, the capital of ), and Khartoem/Khar- toum (respectively Dutch and for Khartum, the capital of Sudan). 6. Need for flexibility For the sake of good order, the arguments of the sup- When studying the exonym problem closer, the sup- porters and opponents of the use of exonyms will be men- porters of reduction may be happy about the following tioned. First the supporters: trends: – Exonyms form a part of the vocabulary of a language a) Recent changes of names resulting amongst others and thereby of the national culture. Many exonyms from the emancipation of former colonies (Gold are deeply rooted in the lexicographic system of the Coast → Ghana; Ceylon → , Congo → language. This is mainly true for the names of larger Zaire; Batavia → Jakarta) have found a surprisingly geographical units: Balkan Peninsula, , rapid acceptance by the general public. , etc. Abolition or reduction of exonyms would mean an impoverishment of the vocabulary. b) In various countries it can be observed that as a con- sequence of increasing international contacts through – Exonyms bear witness to extensive economic and radio, television, sports, tourism etc the number of cultural contacts between nations. They are of great exonyms is decreasing by a natural, spontaneous importance for the study of historical relationships. process, as the linguists have predicted. The adherents – The replacement of exonyms with official local of the U.N. policy to reduce the exonyms wish to names would inevitably lead to spelling and pronun- guide and to encourage the natural process of replace- ciation difficulties on the part of the language users. ment of exonyms by a well-prepared local names promotion whereby the media, railways, airlines, – In some cases maintaining the exonyms can be advan- publishers and teachers cooperate. tageous for the users for other reasons. In civil avia- tion the use of English exonyms is the standard inter- Further discussion on the subject in the UNGEGN has national practice because English is the official lan- indicated that proposals to reduce the number of guage in this field. By retaining French exonyms the exonyms should be more diversified, whereby more con- Moroccan authorities do not have to choose between sideration should be given to the question as to which cat- Arab and Berber versions of toponyms, and can pre- egories of users are envisaged. In general, it can be vent the ensuing difficulties. assumed that the spoken language allows for more exonyms than the written one; that the speaker who The adherents of the U.N. recommendations to reduce the addresses a wider public can permit a greater use of number of exonyms have the following motives: exonyms than when he speaks to specialists; that – In a world in which international contacts (political, exonyms are more acceptable in texts than on maps and economical, cultural, scientific, touristic) are rapidly tables; that exonyms are more appropriate on maps and more intensifying, the use of exonyms instead of local wall charts for primary schools than in atlases for higher names leads to confusion. education. Local names should, in any case, be applied on maps for international use such as road maps, railway – The use of exonyms in popular and scientific litera- maps and airline route maps, whereby the user must be ture, in tourist guides and on maps delays the identifi- able to find the names which correspond to road signs.

123 Supporters of a reduction of the use of exonyms should Corse, Jutland (Eng., Dutch) for Jylland. No endon- therefore aim not only at gradual but also at selective yms are added in brackets. change, adapted to the users. For the various categories 6. Names of settlements, especially capital cities, ports listed above a varied policy is recommended with an and other important centers. In Europe we hardly find adapted elimination speed. any exonyms for cities that recently became impor- tant, like Glasgow, Dortmund, Düsseldorf. Endonyms are generally added to the exonyms. 7. Need for better insight According to the definition of exonyms, names for In order to decide on a strategy with this end in view, objects outside someone’s jurisdiction, if belonging to more insight is needed into the complexity of exonyms as the ‘high seas’ (Pacific Ocean, Arctic Ocean), cannot be a phenomenon. This realization has resulted in a recom- considered exonyms. But also for objects within mendation by UNGEGN, which was requested to study someone’s jurisdiction, as for instance objects that fall this question by the U.N. conference in Athens (1977), to under the sovereignty of more than one country (Danube, all member states to establish a national inventory and Lake Constance, Himalayas, Alps, etc.), it is not possible classification of the exonyms in general use. It is to find an obvious local name to replace the exonym. The expected that on the basis of classification a policy will Danube, for example, changes its name with the lan- be more easily formulated to limit the use of exonyms. guage of the eight countries through which it flows. A quick survey of the situation reveals that exonyms are On the basis of this rough division one could suggest the used for a variety of foreign geographical phenomena, gradual reduction of exonyms beginning with settle- both physical and human. The following categories can ments and then moving to larger topographic units such be broadly differentiated: as regions and administrative areas. It goes without saying that some long-established country names such as 1. Names of independent countries (state names): Greece and Germany will prove to be indestructible. For Norway (Eng) for Norge, Griechenland (German) for the reason stated above it will not be possible to “de- Hellas. In Europe, with a few exceptions, all lan- exonymise” the names of physical features which are guages have exonyms for the country names in other beyond the boundaries of a single sovereignty. language areas. This is because of the fact that these names have a long history and have been incorpo- rated into other languages in an earlier age. Endonyms are never added to the exonyms of country 8 Reactions from UN Member countries names (in brackets). Various countries have responded to the request of the 2. Names of administrative units: Lower Saxony (Eng) UNGEGN to analyse their corpus of exonyms more for Niedersachsen; Apulien (German) for Puglia; closely. Among them is France, whose Commission de Karinthië (Dutch) for Kärnten. Endonyms are never Toponymie of the Institut Géographique National (IGN) added here. has prepared an elaborate classification of French exonyms on the basis of origin, evolution, structure and 3. Names for historical and geographical regions: composition.ii Pomerania (Eng) for Pommern; Souabe (French) for Schwaben; Normandia (Spanish) for Normandie The German Democratic Republic has published a list of the exonyms it wishes to maintain, from which it is 4. Names of hydrographic features, such as seas, bays, understood that the majority of German name versions straits, rivers, : Golf von Genua (German) for for eastern European cities could be abolished, according Golfo di Genova; Lac Supérieur (French) for Lake to the GDR. Names like Breslau, Dantzig, Stettin are, Superior; Taag (Dutch) for Tajo (Port) or Tejo according to the GDR, overtaken by history. The Federal (Spanish). Hydrographic features are generally desig- Republic of Germany has made less dramatic proposals nated by exonyms only. but will nevertheless relinquish some exonyms. On 5. Names of other physical features such as mountain examining their list, which includes Stettin, Königsberg, ranges, , and peninsulas: Peloponnesus and Brunn, one cannot really announce a breakthrough. (Dutch) for Peloponnesos; Montagnes Rocheuses Rumania has decided to maintain some frequently used (French) for Rocky Mountains, Korsika (German) for exonyms alongside the local names e.g. Varcovie

ii Essai de classification des exonymes. Bulletin du Comité Français de Cartographie no 77, pp 96–100, 1978.

124 (Warszawa), Moscovi (Moskva), Viena (Wien). The of spelling. The Soviet Union, finally, prepared a classifi- Rumanians are, however, prepared to give up forms such cation of exonyms and has critically examined them. It as Colonia, Dresda, Hanovre, Brema in favour of the was expected that this would lead to a reduction in local names. number, which is acceptable, but all this work is now overtaken by the recent turmoil in the Commonwealth of The Board of Geographical Names in the is Independent states (GOS), and the emerging nationalism also preparing a standardisation programme of its will probably lead to an – at least temporary – increase in exonyms, and it has stated that many of those will be exonyms. Well, this will ensure cartographers keep their maintained. In its report the BGN notes that there are no jobs! legal instruments to control private publishers in the field

125