American Name Society
52nd
Annual
Ehrensperger
Report
2006
This document marks the 52nd year since the introduction of
this annual review of scholarship in onomastic studies to the membership of the
American Name Society by Edward C.
Ehrensperger. For over twenty-five
years, from 1955 to 1982, he compiled and published his report to the
society. As usual, it is a partial view
of the research and other activity going on in the world of onomastics, or name
study. In a report of this kind, the
editor must make use of what comes in, often resulting in unevenness. Some of the entries are very short; some
extensive, especially from those who are reporting not just for themselves but
also for the activity of a group of people.
In all cases, I have assumed the prerogative of an editor and have
abridged, clarified, and changed the voice of many of the submissions.
I have
encouraged the submission of reports by email or electronically, since it is
much more efficient to edit text already typed than to type the text myself. For those not using email, I strongly
encourage sending me written copy. There is some danger, however, in depending
on electronic copy: sometimes diacritical marks or other formatting matters may
not have come through correctly.
Again this year, you will notice an important change in the format of the
report. Because this report is to be
posted on the World-Wide Web, rather than include addresses and telephone
numbers as part of the entry, I have gathered email addresses that were
submitted separately. Current members of
the American Name Society may request contact information for an individual
through a request to me at mmcgoff@binghamton.edu or at the
address you will find below.
In keeping with the spirit of onomastics and the original Ehrensperger
Report, I have attempted where possible to report on research and publication
under a person’s name. I have also
attempted to locate topics of interest and then cross-list them with one or
more names. In addition, I have, again
this year included an index. In the main
entries, I have listed the surnames of contributors entirely in capitals. When you see a name or topic in capital
letters and underlined in the body of an entry you should expect to find a main
entry for it in its proper alphabetical order.
For the web version that can be found at http://wtsn.binghamton.edu/ANS/, I have made
liberal use of hypertext. Many of the
entries in underlined capital letters are also hyperlinks. At the website simply clicking on them with
will bring you to a reference in the text.
Most people’s names are hyperlinks as well. In the main entry for a person if the name as
heading is highlighted and underlined, putting your cursor on it will produce
that person’s email address. Clicking on
it will produce an email addressed to them.
In the cross references, clicking on a person’s name will bring you to
his or her main entry. In some cases,
clicking on a hyperlink will launch your browser and bring you to the website
of that organization, much as what happened if you clicked above on the
American Name Society hyperlink. I hope
that by again using hypertext in this year’s web version of The
Ehrensperger Report, I have made it easier and more efficient to
use. If you have any comments or
suggestions I would very much like to hear them.
Other
Resources
Ren Vasiliev is the editor of the official journal of the American Name
Society, Names: A Journal of Onomastics. Look in the December issue for the latest
style sheet.
Michael McGoff maintains the ANS Electronic Discussion Group. If you wish to take part in the interesting
discussions that often start up on this listserve, send an email message to the
following address: mailto:listserv@listserv.binghamton.edu
No “Subject” is necessary, and the message must contain only one line:
sub ans-l yourfirstname
yourlastname
The system will add your name and email address to the list and you will
receive all notices that are posted. You
will also be able to send notices (You must join the list to do this).
Dr. McGoff also
maintains the home pages for the American Name Society
(ANS); the Toponymy Interest Group and Who Was Who in North
American Name Study of ANS.
The Ehrensperger Report
Michael F. McGoff, Vice Provost
Office of the Provost
Binghamton University
State University of New York
Binghamton, New York 13902-6000
© American Name Society 2006.
Frank
ABATE has had a very active
year with several editorial projects, some names-related. He is revising
and expanding the third edition of Allusions – Cultural, Literary, Biblical,
and Historical: A Thematic Dictionary. The 2nd edition,
prepared by Laurence Urdang and Frederick G. Ruffner, Jr., was published by
Gale in 1986; Frank worked on that edition as Managing Editor. The new edition,
being published by Omnigraphics of Detroit (omnigraphics.com), boasts some 4,000
new entries drawn from traditional and popular culture. Entries give a
brief identification of the item and the source from which the information was
drawn; a bibliography is included. Allusions is arranged
thematically, under more than 700 categories (e.g., Friendship, Temptation,
Wealth). Typical entries are characters or entities from literature (Scrooge,
White Rabbit), mythology (Scylla and Charybdis, Zeus), the
Bible (Eve, Moses), and other aspects of culture (Bart Simpson,
Better Business Bureau, Casey Jones, Gay Nineties).
Publication is set for 2007.
Mr. Abate has also written several
biographical sketches for Biography for Beginners, published by
Favorable Impressions. He is particularly pleased to have written a
sketch of Muhammad Ali, his favorite athlete “of all times” and the inspiration
for his own daughter’s nickname (Ali, short for Alexandra).
The Ali piece and others on African-American Athletes (including Satchel Paige,
Hank Aaron, Bill Russell, Jesse Owens, Wilma Rudolph, and Arthur Ashe) will
appear in a special compilation from Favorable Impressions of Pleasant Ridge,
Michigan, in 2007. In 2006 Favorable Impressions (favimp.com) published a compilation of
inventors, 83 in all, that have appeared in their series of periodicals for
early readers, ages 7 to 10, since they began publishing in 1995. Mr.
Abate wrote the sketches on Gordon Gould (laser), Guglielmo Marconi (wireless
transmitter or radio), Samuel F.B. Morse (telegraph), George Westinghouse
(railroad air brake and AC current transmission system), Frank Whittle (jet
engine), which appear among other inventors from Archimedes to Thomas Edison,
Bill Gates to the Wright Brothers. All Biography for Beginners publications are carefully researched and
richly illustrated, and include suggestions for further reading and research,
including web sites.
Other projects Mr. Abate is working on
include an essay on the spiritual aspects of baseball (“looking for a
publisher”) and a travel and personal essay provisionally entitled On Making a Left Turn: Rediscovering Ohio
State and Hello, Columbus. He and his daughter are also preparing a
proposal for a book on bipolar disorder and depression, “a story with sad
beginnings but two happy endings.”
Ernest L. ABEL, a Professor at the C.S.
Mott Center for Human Growth & Development of Wayne State University,
produced two articles of interest to onomastic scholars this year:
· Abel E.L., Kruger M.L.; “Symbolic
Significance of Initials on Longevity.” Psychological Reports, 2006, in
press.
· Abel E.L., Kruger M.L.; “Nicknames Increases
Longevity. “ OMEGA: The Journal of Death and Dying, 2006, in press.
Ibrahim AKSU of Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University in Turkey responds that
several recent studies of Turkish names are worth mentioning for the
report.
(1) Doctoral dissertation by Meltem Turkoz - The Social Life of the State's Fantasy: The
Naming of Turkish Families in 1934 – was completed in 2004 at the University of
Pennsylvania. The complete text may be referred to at:
http://repository.upenn.edu/dissertations/AAI3125908/. Dr. Meltem Turkoz is now teaching at
Isık University in Istanbul.
(2) Doctoral thesis by Kerem Oktem at St. Anthony’s College, University
of Oxford, concerning topographic name changes in Turkey from the historical
and political perspective: Marking the
Geographies of Nationalism. He adds that he assumes that the thesis is
complete but that there is no news yet concerning publication.
(3) Article by Mustafa Kulu at Middle East Technical University in
Ankara on Identification of Individuals
in the Dardanelles (1840), based on contemporary Ottoman documents with a
detailed analysis of identification factors (descriptors, honorifics, etc.)
added to given personal names among the Muslim, Jewish, Greek, and Armenian
communities of the time. It is envisaged the article will be published in an
academic journal sometime in 2007.
Ibrahim Aksu himself published an overview
of Turkish placenames in Names: A Journal
of Onomastics, 51.3&4, 2003; a paper on the legal aspects of
forenames/surnames in Turkey (Law and
Language, 2nd International Conference, St. Kliment Ohridski
University Press, Sofia 2005), and, in 2006, he completed Volume I of his book The Story of Turkish Surnames (Olay
Gazete Press, 2006, Canakkale, Turkey).
His book is based on oral accounts but also includes historical
background and appendices on nicknames/descriptors, changes of surname, and
stage names/pseudonyms. He is currently
working on a book in Turkish on the same topic to be followed by The Story of Turkish Surnames, Volume II.
He concludes that “many scholarly studies
on all aspects of Turkish names continue to be published in that language. Some
studies in English, prior to those listed here, are known to contain factual
errors and need to be treated with caution.”
John ALGEO published a book during this
period, in both cloth and paper, entitled British or American English? A Handbook of
Word and Grammar Patterns.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006. Pp. xii + 348. It includes some examples of name patterns
for persons, places, and institutions that differ between the two national
varieties.
María BARROS presented “Names and
Naming at the United Nations” at ICOS XXII in Pisa (Italy), August 28-September
4, 2005.
Herbert BARRY
III, Professor Emeritus
at the University of Pittsburgh, has been preparing information for publication
on the names of fictional characters in the 6 novels by Jane Austen and in the
14 completed novels by Charles Dickens.
Fictional characters given the first name of the author and of the
author’s family members have attributes that appear to express the author’s
feelings about self and family members.
Dr. Barry presented a paper at the annual ANS meeting in Albuquerque
reporting on “many more male than female fictional characters in novels by male
but not female authors.” He is currently
adding to the data novels by the female authors, George Eliot and Charlotte
Bronte.
Professor Barry and
Aylene S. Harper have analyzed information on more than 100 male and female
names in the U.S., UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain.
They find that
increasing differentiation between male and female first names, indicated by
the final letter, is associated with increasing individualism. Spain is lowest
and the U.S. is highest on both measures.
Their findings are being prepared for publication.
C. Richard BEAM is “still collecting Pennsylvania German
placenames,” He directs The Center for Pennsylvania German Studies.
Susan J. BEHRENS, an Associate
Professor of Communications Sciences and Disorders at
Marymount Manhattan College, replies that she is working on a 
project entitled: “Forms of Address on the Bridge of the Enterprise: A Linguistic Analysis
of Naming” which she will present in April at the Popular Culture Association
conference in Boston.
Thomas L. BERNARD, Emeritus
Professor of Education and Psychology, responds that he has “one item to report this time, and that is to
do with the publication of my book, The
Twelve Days of Christmas: the Mystery and the Meaning.” His hypothesis is that “the apparently
meaningless items when decoded are actually an esoteric route guide by which pilgrims
in the early Middle Ages could travel from England to the Holy Land.” He says
that, “from the onomastic point of view this involved my having to identify and
‘translate’ toponyms that are actually the way stations on that route.”
For example, he reports, “drummers drumming” - “de Rome,” cf. “drum.”
He wishes us “all the best for 2007.”
William BRIGHT. It is with sadness that we note the death of Professor Bright. His passing was noted in the New York Times of October 23, 2006 where
it was stated that: “William Bright, an internationally renowned linguist who
spent more than half a century inventorying the vanishing riches 
of the indigenous languages of the United
States, died on October 15 in Louisville, Colorado. He was 78 and lived in Boulder, Colorado. The
cause was a brain tumor, said his daughter, Susie Bright.”
Ronald
R. BUTTERS, Professor of English and Cultural Anthropology at Duke
University teaches in the areas of the structure of modern English and
present-day usage; the history of the English language; sociolinguistics,
including American dialects, languages in contact, and Caribbean linguistics;
language and law; discourse analysis, pragmatics, and semiotics; as well as
introduction to literature. He writes
that he does not have much to report in the way of publications that bear specifically
on the issue of names, but that he continues to do research on trademarks. He is also doing considerable legal
consulting on trademark issues. He gave
the following oral presentations that relate to trademarks:
·
“The
Credentialing of Linguists Who Testify in American Trademark Litigation,” Language and the Law: East meets West,
Department of English Language, University of Lodz, Poland; September 12–14,
2005.
·
“The
American Linguistic Consultant in American Trademark Litigation: Current
Issues,” European Forensic Linguistic
Conference, Barcelona, Spain; September 14, 2006. [Invited plenary
lecture].
·
“Linguist
Issues in American Trademark Law: 2006,” International
Summer School in Forensic Linguistic Analysis, Birmingham, England;
September 20, 2006. [Invited 90-minute lecture].
Professor Butters is on sabbatical leave
this year.
Enzo CAFFARELLI, Editor of RIOn (Rivista Italiana di Onomastica – Italian Onomastic Review) continues his
work on the Dictionary of Italian Family
Names. He hopes to publish the book
which will have over 40,000 entries in 2008.
During this period he has published some articles and reviews in RIOn which focused on the analysis of
regional distribution and typology of Italian family names.
In 2006 RIOn published interviews with 38 scholars from 26 nations on
onomastic terminology. The interest of
participants in the inquiry clearly demonstrates that terminology is one of the
key problems in contemporary onomastics.
The responses of these scholars will stimulate further work by the
International Council of Onomastic Sciences (ICOS). The results of the inquiry,
edited by Milan Harvalík, vice-president of ICOS, and by Enzo Caffarelli, will
appear in the first issue of 2007.
The RIOn
International Series (QuadRIOn)
has published a second volume, Lexicography
and Onomastics: Proceedings of the International Study Days, University of Rome
3, February 16th and 17th, 2006, with 20 papers. The RIOn
Italian Series (QuiRIOn) produced
its first book, Theory and Practice of
Popular Onymic Systems: the “Orbasca” (central Liguria) Community and its
Proper Names, by Giorgio Marrapodi.
Both of these series are directed by Professor Caffarelli.
Now a professor at the University of Rome
2 ‘Tor Vergata,” Enzo Caffarelli has
offered a course on onomastics, The
Sociolinguistics of Proper Names, which is designed for graduate students
and school teachers. He has also
coordinated an international meeting on The
Names of Rome: 28 Centuries of Onomastics; and an international Laboratory of Onomastics (LIOn). The objectives, methods and
activities of the laboratory are presented in the most recent issue of Onoma, the ICOS review (# 39, edited by Botolv HELLELAND), now in press. LIOn
is on the web: www.onomalab.eu. It is now in its earliest stages and contains
a section on RIOn.
Edward CALLARY of the English Department of Northern Illinois
University says “2006 has been a good year for onomastics.” He compiled the onomastics section for the Year’s Work in English Studies which he
recommends to all as “a comprehensive yet succinct account of onomastic
publications for the year.”
Professor Callary also
had several onomastics articles published, including “On the Use of Geographic
Names to Inform Regional Language Studies,” which appeared in Language Variation and Change in the
American Midland, edited by Tom Murray and Beth Lee Simon. His “Geographic Names in the Midwest” is
included in the “long-awaited” The
American Midwest: An Interpretive Encyclopedia (Indiana University
Press). He says that “this is a huge
reference work, nearly 2000 pages. His
anthology which he calls The Names Reader
was published by Mellen in November.
This is a collection of 17 articles which first appeared in Names: A Journal of Onomastics,
primarily in the 1990s. Dr. Callary had
entitled the work Names in American
Society but, he says, apparently this “was not academic enough.” The title Mellen gave to it is Surnames, Nicknames, Placenames, Epithets in
America: Essays in the Theory of Names.”
To which Professor Callary responds with “Gasp, shudder!” He says that “full contents and testimonials
are available at mellenpress.com. It is a big, hard cover book of nearly 300
pages which lists for $110.00 but individuals can purchase for $39.95.” He asks that you contact him if “you need a
coupon to purchase at this price.”
Professor Callary’s
finished manuscript on Illinois placenames is “in the hands of the final
authorities (the readers) and if all goes well will be published by the
University of Illinois Press in 2007.”
Finally, his review of
Patrick HANKS’ Dictionary
of American Family Names appears in the special issue of Onoma edited by Tom
GASQUE.
Dr. Callary continues
to serve as a member of the Illinois Names Authority.
Clive CHEESMAN is Rouge Dragon Pursuivant at the College of Arms in London. He published: “Names and Naming Systems,” in The Edinburgh
Companion to Ancient Greece and Rome, edited by E. Bispham, T.
Harrison and B. Sparkes (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2006), pp.
465-470.
Shawn CLANKIE is an Associate
Professor of Applied Linguistics at Otaru University of Commerce. In 2006, he published three books, two
self-study books for English language learners and one introductory language
and culture textbook.
·
Grammar Rules of Spoken English (with T. Kobayashi); Tokyo:
Goken.
·
Everyday English; (with T. Kobayashi) Tokyo: Goken.
·
Language and Our World; (with T. Kobayashi) Tokyo: Sanshusha.
Dr. Clankie’s website may be found at:
http://www.otaru-uc.ac.jp/~shawn
Richard COATES is Professor of Linguistics and Professor of
Onomastics at the University of the West of England
and also Visiting Professor of
Linguistics at the University of Sussex.
His publications for this period include:
·
“A New Theory of Properhood.” In Eva Brylla and Mats
Wahlberg, eds, Proceedings of the 21st International Congress of
Onomastic 
Sciences, Uppsala, August 19-24 2002, Volume I.
Uppsala: SOFI, 125-37.
·
“A Speculative Psycholinguistic Model of Onymization.” In
Dunja Brozović-Rončević and Enzo Caffarelli, eds, Quaderni
Internazionali di Rivista Italiana di Onomastica 1 (Naming the world:
from common nouns to proper names), 3-13. [Proceedings of “Naming the
World: from Common Nouns to Proper Names”, Zadar, Croatia, 1-4 September 2004.]
·
“The Origin of Roddon.” Notes and Queries 250 (June), 170-2.
· “Four Pre-English River
Names in and around Fenland: Chater, Granta, Nene and Welland.”
Transactions of the Philological Society 103, 303-22.
·
“Two Notes on
Names in tūn in Relation to Pre-English Antiquities: Kirmington
and Broughton, Lincolnshire.” Journal of
the English Place-Name Society 37, 33-6.
·
“A
Tendring Hundred Miscellany.” Journal of the English Place-Name Society 37, 37-47.
·
The Antiquity of Moggerhanger.” Journal of the English Place-Name Society 37,
48-51.
· “Cogidubnus
Revisited.” Antiquaries Journal 85,
341-8.
· “Verulamium: the Romano-British Name of St Albans.” Studia Celtica 39, 169-76.
·
“The Grammar of Place-names in Scandinavian England: a Preliminary
Commentary.” In Peder Gammeltoft, Carole A. Hough and Doreen J. Waugh, eds,
Cultural Contacts in the North Atlantic Region:
the Evidence of Names. (Proceedings of a conference at Lerwick,
Shetland (2003).) Lerwick: NORNA,
Scottish Place-Name Society and Society for Name Studies in Britain and
Ireland, 72-82.
·
“What is onomastics?;” “Onomastic Terminology;” and “Names
of the Month” in Motlalepula; Brighton; Pisa. Pages of the
International Council of Onomastic Sciences, www.icosweb.net.
·
“Foreword” [as Chair of the Editorial Board], Onoma
38 (2003).
·
Muscotter. Brighton: Younsmere Press; pp. 24
(ISBN 0 9512309 8 0).
·
“Names.” In Richard M. Hogg and David Denison, eds, A
History of the English Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
312-51.
·
“Stour and
Blyth as English River-names.” English Language and Linguistics 10,
23-9.
·
“Properhood.” Language
82, 356-82.
·
“Latin and Irish Place-names in England and Wales.” In Eva
Brylla and Mats Wahlberg, with Lars-Erik Edlund, eds, Proceedings of the 21st
International Congress of Onomastic Sciences, Uppsala, August 19-24 2002,
vol 2. Uppsala: SOFI, 63-74.
·
“Maiden Castle, Geoffrey of Monmouth and Hārūn
al-Rašīd.” Nomina 29, 5-60.
·
“Ludgate.” Nomina
29, 129-32.
·
Review: “Minna Saarelma-Maunumaa,” Edhina ekogidho: names as links
(2003). Helsinki: Finnish Literature Society. Nomina 28,
169-72.
·
“Joel Mann, An International Glossary of Place Name
Elements” (2005). Lanham,
MD, etc.: Scarecrow Press. Journal of the English Place-Name Society 37,
70-1.
His
conference papers for the period are:
·
“A Typology of Football Club Names in the British Isles.”
Paper to the International Congress of Onomastic Sciences XXII, University of
Pisa, Italy, 28 August-4 September 2005. (Forthcoming in proceedings).
·
“Victor Watts’s
Legacy in the Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-names.” EPNS/SNSBI day-conference in memory
of Victor Watts, Grey College, Durham, 17 September 2005. (on web-site of the
Department of Linguistics and English Language, University of Sussex).
·
“On Self-explanatory Place-names.” Paper to Society for
Name Studies in Britain and Ireland, University of Bristol, 7-10 April 2006.
Professor Coates other activities for this period are:
·
An interview in
July 2006 with Slovenian national radio, about personal naming in Britain;
·
An interview in
August 2006 with BBC Radio Shropshire, about Shropshire place-names; and
·
A British Academy
grant (£2171) for web-resource -- “Names in Shakespeare online”; RA, Dr
Seongsook Choi.
Gerald L. COHEN, at the University of Missouri-Rolla, continues his widely respected work
with the publication Comments on
Etymology. He reports the following
works for the period:
·
Barry
A. POPIK and Gerald Leonard Cohen: Studies
in Slang, VII, published by Gerald Leonard Cohen, 2006. 194 pp. The items presented herein include two
onomastic ones by Barry Popik:
§
Barry Popik: “Coinage of ‘The Windy City’ Is Often
Incorrectly Attributed To NYC Editor Charles Dana, Who -- In the 1889-1890
Competition For The 1893 World’s Fair -- Allegedly Spoke of Chicago's ‘Windy
Politicians’.” pp. 50-71. (This is
followed by a “Reprint of Nathan Bierma’s Chicago-Tribune
article ‘On the Origin of The Windy City’.”
(Dec. 7, 2004, Tempo Section, pp. 1,
5), pp.72-77.
§
Barry Popik:
“‘Tin Pan Alley’ Origin Is Explained In a 1903 Newspaper Article,” pp. 78-79.
·
Barry Popik:
“‘The Big Apple’: Recent Withdrawal of Hoax about the Nickname Deriving From
Whores.” -- Comments on Etymology,
vol. 35, no. 5-6, Feb./March 2006, pp. 30-32.
·
Barry Popik:
“‘Show Me’ -- 1909 Missouri Immigration-Commissioner Allegedly Hoke Up a
Publicity Campaign by Having the Governor Call for a New State Nickname, But
None of the Many Suggestions Were As Good As ‘Show Me.’” -- Comments on Etymology, vol. 35, no. 7,
April 2006, 28 pp.
·
Gerald Cohen:
“Reply to Alexander Beider’s Putdown of Etymological Research, Especially in
Surnames.” -- Comments on Etymology,
vol. 35, no. 3, Dec. 2005, pp. 15-16.
·
Gerald Cohen:
“Chicago's Sobriquet ‘The Windy City:’ No Evidence for the Assertion That It
Appeared Already in the 1850’s.” -- Comments
on Etymology, vol. 35, no. 3, Dec. 2005. pp. 19-21.
·
Gerald Cohen,
reporting information from Michael McCafferty: “Ozarks – ‘Arks’ is due to the
French Clipping of Indian Tribal Names.” -- Comments
on Etymology, vol. 35, no. 4, Jan. 2006, p. 10.
·
Gerald Cohen
(compiler): “Material for the Study of Slang ‘Jack the Bear’.” -- Comments on Etymology, vol. 35, no. 8,
May 2006, pp. 4-9.
·
Gerald Cohen
(compiler): “Origin of Gang-Name ‘Crips’ -- Clarification from Wilson Gray.” --
Comments on Etymology, vol. 35, no.
8, May 2006, pp. 20-21.
Andrew COWELL, a professor in the
Department of Linguistics at the University of Colorado writes that his
research focuses on linguistic anthropology and on linguistic and
anthropological approaches to literature.
Aaron DEMSKY
is the Director of The Project for the Study of Jewish Names at Bar-Ilan
University in Israel. He is pleased to
report that “this past year has seen
further developments in establishing Jewish onomastics as an academic
discipline.”
He asks that ANS members “please take note: We are
planning the 8th International Conference on Jewish Onomastics
to take place in late June, 2007 at Bar-Ilan University Ramat –Gan,
Israel.” Proposals are being accepted on
all aspects of Jewish names (given, surnames, and toponyms) from the biblical
through the modern periods. Appropriate papers on the Ancient Near Eastern and
comparative onomastics are also invited.
Interdisciplinary papers may deal with names from historic, linguistic,
sociological and literary perspectives.
Languages of the conference: English and Hebrew. Those interested in participating should
contact Professor Demsky at demskya@mail.biu.ac.il.
Dr. Demsky participated in the following two
international conferences:
· Russian
Jewish Surnames: Their Historic Context,
International Center for Judaic Studies in Eastern Europe, Kiev Mogilanska
Academy, Jewish Studies Department, Kiev, Ukraine in July 2006
· Jewish
Genealogy: Research and Teaching Priorities, Invited participant and Chair, Session on Onomastics,
International Symposium - The
International Institute for Jewish Genealogy and Paul Jacobi Center Jerusalem,
The Hebrew University, Givat Ram Campus. September 2006.
He continues to give popular lectures to several
elementary schools as well as to adult education groups on Jewish names as an
aspect of Jewish heritage and family genealogy.
Combining his ongoing research into biblical names and
ancient Hebrew inscriptions (epigraphy), he has submitted a paper deciphering
an old Hebrew ostracon dated to the 7th century BCE from Tel `Ira,
Israel. The shard, known as the MPQD
inscription, contains several biblical names.
It will be published this coming February in the Bulletin of the Association of the Society of Oriental Research (BASOR) 345, pp 1-6.
Dr. Demsky is now in the process of editing papers (in
Hebrew and English) that have been submitted to the forthcoming fifth volume of
These Are The Names -Studies in Jewish
Onomastics (Ramat-Gan). The articles
reflect the interdisciplinary nature of the subject. Those interested in purchasing this series of
four volumes or a single volume should contact press@mail.biu.ac.il.
Under the sponsorship of The Project for the Study of Jewish Names, Dr. Yigal Levin is
preparing a monograph on Biblical
Genealogy. Both publications have
been generously financed by a donor.
In addition, Professor Demsky is presently negotiating
the publication in English of a new series focusing on specific themes of
Jewish onomastics. The first volume is
collected studies on Names in the
Sephardic Diaspora (1492-the Present).
Financial assistance is being sought to cover the costs of editing,
translating and publication.
In the academic realm, he offered, for the fourth time
a seminar on
Jewish names in the Department of Jewish History. It is a bachelor’s level seminar on Jewish Onomastics in Antiquity. There are fifteen students among whom are two
doctoral candidates wanting to enhance their own respective research on Economics in Antiquity and on Textiles in the Talmudic world. Within this framework, Professor Moshe
Garsiel presented a guest lecture on literary aspects of biblical names.
Lastly, Professor Demsky
is “happy to announce that Dr. Tsuguya
(Tsvi) Sasaki
of the Department of Hebrew and Semitic languages at Bar-Ilan University is
presenting a course on Jewish Onomastics
from a linguistic point of view. Those
interested may consult his website at: http://www.ts-cyberia.net.
Dr. Demsky says that “it
is noteworthy that two courses on onomastics are being given at the same
university from two academic perspectives.”
Randall A. DETRO and H.J. Walker published The Wonderful World of Names: the Writings
of Meredith (Pete) F. Burrill (“Toponymist Extraordinaire”). Dr. Detro says that “the writings of Pete and
his maps rest safely at Louisiana State University. Pete was a special friend of mine and was an
inspiration to me, along with my major professor Fred B. Kniffen, in getting my
doctoral dissertation written.” Dr.
Detro hopes to revise and publish his dissertation, which is entitled Generic Terms in Placenames of Louisiana, An
Index to the Cultural Landscape, “without the ‘dryness’ of a dissertation.”
Dr. Detro adds that, “About two months
ago, a friend and I agreed to publish a volume to be titled Louisiana Places which “an outstanding
Louisiana publisher asked for.” They
intend to include 2,500 places with entries varying from 250 to 2,000
words. Maps and photographs will be
included. Unfortunately, he says, that
means his comprehensive Dictionary of
Louisiana Placenames “goes on hold one more time.”
His other interests concern the shrinking Louisiana coast,
subsidence, coastal restoration and marsh management.
Christine
DE VINNE completes her term as Immediate
Past President of the American Name Society on December 31,
2006. She continues to serve as Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences
and Professor of English at Ursuline College.
Professor De Vinne recently published “Corporate
Biography: Name and Narrative in an Ohio Sample of Family-Named Businesses” in Onoma
38 (327-46). Her work in corporate onomastics continues with “Naming the
Goodyear Blimp” which she will present at the ANS conference in Anaheim in
January 2007. “Names: Resources for Genealogists” was well-received at the
November 2006 meeting of the East Cuyahoga County Genealogical Society.
Dr. De Vinne serves as book review editor for Names:
A Journal of Onomastics and welcomes inquiries from authors, publishers,
and potential reviewers.
Sheila
EMBLETON, Vice
President, Academic at York University in Toronto, continues to be a very busy
scholar. She reports that she continues
her involvement with onomastics in:
· Member – of Editorial Board – Onomastica
Canadiana;
· Correspondent – International
correspondent for Canada, Rivista Italiana di Onomastica;
· Member of the Honorary Committee of the RIOn [Rivista Italiana di Onomastica] International
Series / Quaderni Internazionali di
RIOn;
· Chair of Organizing Committee – 23rd
International Congress of Onomastic Sciences, York University, Toronto, August
17 – August 23, 2008;
· Session
Chair – Canadian Society for the Study of Names Annual
Meeting, York University, May 27-28, 2006.
· Vice-President, International
Council of Onomastic Sciences (ICOS), 2005-2008.
Her publications
for the period are:
· “Data Capture and
Presentation in the Romanian Online Dialect Atlas,” (with Dorin Uritescu and
Eric Wheeler) in Papers from the Methods
in Dialectology XII Conference, Université de Moncton, 2006, (to appear);
· Brett Kessler, The Significance of Word Lists, (Review)
Diachronica, volume 22, number 2, 2005, pp. 429-450.
· William Bright, Native American Place Names of the United
States, (Review), Language (to
appear).
· Peter Grzybek
(ed.), Contributions to the Science of
Text and Language, Word Length Studies and Related Issues, (Review), Word (to appear).
· Finnish Dialect Atlas Project: Form of Data. Technical
Report, (with Eric Wheeler), 10 page manuscript, York University, 2006.
· “Seeing Words
Change using the Romanian Online Dialect Atlas,” (with Dorin Uritescu &
Eric Wheeler), International Linguistic Association Annual Meeting, Toronto,
March 31 – April 2, 2006.
· “Defining User
Access to the Romanian Online Dialect Atlas,” Fifth Congress of Dialectology
and Geolinguistics, (with Dorin Uritescu & Eric Wheeler) Universidade do
Minho, Braga, Portugal, September 4-8, 2006.
· “Internationalization
– Strategies and Challenges,” Council of Ontario Deans of Arts and Science
(CODAS), (with Adrian Shubert), York University, April 29, 2006.
· “The Canadian
Perspective”, Panel on “Role and Relevance of Double and Joint Degree Programs
in Internationalizing Higher Education,” Transatlantic Degree Programs Project,
DAAD (Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst - German Academic Exchange
Service), Chicago, June 17, 2006, in conjunction with ASEE (American Society
for Engineering Education).
· “Universities
Forum: Canada – USA – IITs Academic Exchanges,” Indian Institute of Technology
Alumni Canada Conference, Mississauga, Ontario, June 24, 2006.
· “Accommodation of
Students with Disabilities,” National Vice-Presidents Academic Conference
(NATVAC), (with Barbara Roberts), University of New Brunswick, Fredericton,
October 11-12, 2006.
Dr.
Embleton continues her service to numerous professional organizations:
· Member-of-executive – International
Linguistic Association.
·
President – International Quantitative
Linguistics Association.
· Member – Board of Directors, Shastri
Indo-Canadian Institute; chair of nominating committee.
· Member – Executive, SWAAC [Senior Women
Academic Administrators of Canada].
· Member of organizing committee – SWAAC
Annual Conference, Toronto, May 2007.
· Chair – Ontario Council of Academic
Vice-Presidents, 2004-2007.
· Member
– Abstract Selection Committee, Linguistic Association of Canada and the United
States [LACUS] Annual Meeting, University of Toronto, 2006.
· Local
Organizer – Annual Meeting, International Linguistic Association, York
University, March 31 – April 2, 2006.
· Member – Abstract Selection Committee –
Linguistic Association of Canada and the United States [LACUS].
· Member
– Program Committee, ACL Workshop on Computational Methods in Historical
Linguistics, Prague, 2007.
· President – Canadian Friends of Finland
Education Foundation.
·
Representative – from the Canadian
Society for the Study of Names to Women’s Issues Network, Humanities and
Social Sciences Federation of Canada.
· Review editor – and member of Editorial
Board – Word.
·
Review
editor – and member of the Editorial Board – Journal of Finnish Studies.
· Associate editor – Diachronica.
· Associate editor – Journal of
Quantitative Linguistics.
· Member – of Editorial Board – Musikometrika.
· Member – of Editorial Board – Quantitative
Linguistics, book series.
· Member – of Advisory Editorial Board – Amsterdam
Classics in Linguistics, book series.
· Member – of Advisory Editorial Board – Current
Issues in Linguistic Theory, book series.
· Referee – Onomastica Canadiana, Journal of Quantitative Linguistics;
ANS Annual Meeting Anaheim 2007.
· Referee
– The Research Council of Norway Centre of Excellence Application
(NoK155,117,000), 2006.
· Invited
member of ESF (European Science Foundation) pool of reviewers.
· Assessor
– (Austria) Fonds zur Förderung der wissenschaftlichen Forschung post-project
evaluation, July 2006.
· Referee
– CFI (Canada Foundation for Innovation) proposal ($1,500,000), July 2006.
· Referee
– The Research Council of Norway Centre of Excellence Application, final round,
2006.
· Referee
– The Research Council of Norway Research Grant Application (NoK 2,548,000),
2006.
· Plenary
session chair – International Linguistic Association Annual Meeting, York University,
March 31 – April 2, 2006. Opening
remarks, three plenary sessions chaired and introduced, March 31 and April 1.
· Session
chair – International Linguistic Association Annual Meeting, York University,
March 31 – April 2, 2006. Session chaired, March 31, 15:25 – 17:15.
·
Chair – Finno-Ugric Studies Association of
Canada Annual Meeting, York University, May 29-30, 2006. “Finno-Ugric (Uralic)
Studies in North America and Worldwide.”
Cleveland Kent EVANS, current President
of the American
Name Society, writes that in January 2006 he presented a talk at the ANS
meeting in Albuquerque entitled “How to Write a Baby Name Book.” The book in question, The Great Big Book of Baby Names, came out in May of 2006
(Publications International, Ltd.; ISBN 1-4127-1300-5). Unfortunately, he
writes, “the book is still very hard to get hold of.” He adds that “it was only recently that the
Bellevue University bookstore was able to obtain copies, and I know of no other
retail outlets where it is available for sure, though libraries can purchase
copies through Quality Books, Inc.”
Professor Ed LAWSON and he wrote
the introduction to Ed CALLARY’s Surnames, Nicknames, Placenames, and Epithets in America: Essays in the
Theory of Names, which Professor Evans calls “a fine selection of past articles from ANS’s journal.”
He continues to be interviewed by many journalists on
fashions in given names and other topics.
One of the more interesting interviews, he says, was on The Infinite Mind program on public
radio last May. Professor Evans continues to do research on naming and plans to
give two presentations on popular culture and baby names, one focusing on general
American culture and one of Hispanic culture, at the ANS meeting in January
2007. His colleague in the Bellevue
University Psychology Department, Dr. Roxanne Sullivan, is working with him to
“get students in experimental psychology interested in helping out in more
formal psychological research on the naming process.”
For those
interested, he passes on the URL of the Social Security website is:
(http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/index.html)
Gillian
FELLOWS-JENSEN, writes
that her publications for the period are:
·
“The Scandinavian Element in the Place-names of the
Isle of Man,” Placenames of the Isle of Man Volume 7, edited by George
Broderick, 2005, 357-370.
·
“Berit Sandnes:
‘Fra Starafjall til Starling Hill. Dannelse og utvikling av norrøne stedsnavn
på Orknøyerne. Doktordisputas ved NTNU – Trondheim 3. mai 2003. 2. Opponent,” Namn
og nemne 21/22, 40-45.
·
“Extermination or Economic Exploitation?,” Cultural
Contacts in the North Atlantic Region: The Evidence of Names, eds Peder
Gammeltoft, Carole Hough, Doreen Waugh (Shetland, 2005), 100-118.
· “Tormod Torfæus rolle i vinlandsforskningen,” Tormod
Torfæus mellom Vinland og “Ringernes Herre,” Karmøyseminaret 2004 (Karmøy
kommune, 2006), 51-62.
·
“The Vikings in Yorkshire: the Place-name Evidence,” Yorkshire
Names and Dialects, ed. Margaret Atherden (York, 2006), 10-19.
·
“On the Dating of Place-names in -bý in England and of
the Settlements Bearing These Names,” Proceedings of the 21st
International Congress of Onomastic Sciences 2 (Uppsala, 2006), 96-104.
·
Care and Conservation of Manuscripts 9, Proceedings of
the ninth international seminar held at the University of Copenhagen 4th-15th
April 2005, eds Gillian Fellows-Jensen & Peter Springborg (Copenhagen,
2006), 263 pp.
Dr. Fellows-Jensen
writes that Peter Springborg and she “are now busy editing the proceedings of
the tenth seminar held in October 2006, to be published in April 2008.
Although officially
retired, she still has a desk at the Section for Name-Studies of the Department
of Scandinavian Research of the University of Copenhagen. She attended conferences in Shetland and
Edinburgh, and continues to work on various topics related to placenames and personal
names in the British Isles.
Finally, she says,
she “was greatly honoured to receive a festschrift on my 70th
birthday this year. It is entitled:
·
Names through the Looking-Glass. Festschrift in Honour
of Gillian Fellows-Jensen July 5th 2006, Navnestudier udgivet af
Afdeling for Navneforskning Nr. 39, edited by Peder Gammeltoft & Bent
Jorgensen (Copenhagen, 2006), 350 pp. It
contains eighteen papers related to names, a tabula gratulatoria and a list of Dr. Fellows-Jensen’s
publications.
Wayne H. FINKE,
Deputy Chair of Modern Languages, Baruch
College, continues to organize the annual Names Institute which occurs on the
first Saturday of May each year. The 45th Names Institute was
held this past on May 6th and featured the following program:
·
Alleen Nilsen – “From Pokémon to Harry Potter: Memorable Names in Pop Culture Materials
for Young Readers;”
· Anthony Howell – “Piecing Together the Past: Archival Research and
African American Naming Practices;”
·
Joel A. Nevis - “From Arbacoochee to Yazoo: Conjuring Up Consonants Muskogean
Placenames of the South;”
·
Marcelline Block – “‘Gaspard’ in George Perec’ W or Childhood Memory and Life: A
User’s Manual and in Patrick Modiano’s Dora Bruder;”
·
Ross Eckler – “Did You Write a Shakespearean Sonnet?;”
·
Leonard R. N. Ashley – “The Business of Names;”
·
Jesse Levitt – “Names in Beckett’s Endgame and All That Fall: Irony and
Black Humor;”
·
Louise Barbara Richardson – “An Explanation of Puy (Pui) as The Name of The
Popular Literary Assemblies in The Medieval Cities of Northern France;”
·
Alfonso Guerriero, Jr. – “The Search for the Origins of the Name MAFIA: Its
Intriguing Past;”
·
David Wade – “Geolinguistics of Names: A Physical Chemical Perspective;”
· Concluding Remarks - Wayne
H. Finke & Leonard R. N. Ashley.
In 2007, the 46th Annual Meeting, the Names
Institute will be held on Saturday, May 5th. Abstracts on all
aspects of naming are welcome. The
deadline: 15 April 2007.
Douglas GALBI is a Senior Economist with the Federal
Communications Commission. His website
is available at http://www.galbithink.org/.
Thomas J. GASQUE, Professor Emeritus of English, University of South
Dakota, is in his second term as secretary of the American Name Society. Although he lives in South 
Carolina now,
he continues to “slog away” with his long-term South Dakota names project, with
“the able assistance of USD graduate student Ryan Berg.” Professor Gasque is beginning to look at a
study of names in South Carolina. He
plans to update the material collected over many years by the late Claude and
Irene Neuffer.
Cynthia
L. HALLEN, Associate Professor in the Department of Linguistics and English Language
at Brigham Young University published:
· “Emily Dickinson’s Place Names.” Names:
A Journal of Onomastics. 54:1 (March 2006) 5-21. [With
undergraduate Office of Research and Creative Activities (ORCA) - recipient
Malina M. Nielson, co-author].
Dr. Hallen is presently
working on:
· “The “Nachbenennung” Given Name
Pattern in a Swedish Village, 1500-1800.”
· “Fabrics of Faith in Emily Dickinson’s
Person Names.”
Her recent and upcoming conference presentations are:
· “Fabrics of Faith in Emily Dickinson’s
Personal Names.” Emily Dickinson
International Society conference. Kyoto, Japan, August 3-5, 2007.
· “A European Given Name Pattern in a
Swedish Village, 1500-1800.” Rocky
Mountain European Studies Consortium Conference - Brigham Young
University. October 6-7, 2006.
· “Swedish Personal Names in Ljustorps
Parish, 1500-1800.” American Name Society Annual Meeting, in conjunction with
the Linguistic Society of America Annual Meeting. Albuquerque, New
Mexico, January 5-8, 2006.
· “‘Brave Names:’ Emily Dickinson’s Person
Names.” Poetics and Linguistics Association (PALA 25) conference.
Huddersfield, England. July 18-21, 2005.
Stephen P. HALUTIAK-HALLICK writes that he
has “nothing to report” for this period.
Patrick HANKS, reports
that Kate Hardcastle and he “have
published a new edition of the Oxford Dictionary of First Names.” In addition to a complete revision of the
main text, the new edition now contains 22 appendixes: 13 on common non-English
names (Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Indian, Irish, Italian, Japanese,
Russian, Scandinavian, Scottish, Spanish, and Welsh), one on Unisex names, and
8 on “most popular names” at different times in various English-speaking
countries. His long article that he wrote on 18th century
Anglicization of European family names in North America appeared in the issue
of Onoma guest-edited by Thomas GASQUE.
Aylene
S. HARPER. See BARRY
Botolv HELLELAND, senior lecturer
at the Institute of Linguistic and Scandinavian Studies, University (Institutt
for lingvistiske og nordiske studium Universitetet) of Oslo, Norway, 
sends the
following report on Norwegian onomastic activities:
· A one day conference on Foreign Place Names in a Nordic and International Perspective was
held in Oslo on October 21, 2005 in connection with the meeting of
the Norden Division of the United Nations Group of Experts on
Geographical Names. See:
http://unstats.un.org/unsd/geoinfo/ungegnnewsletter31.pdf.
· The 11th National Conference on Name Research was held in Oslo November 10, 2006,
focusing on personal names in chronological, sociological, and geographical
contexts.
· The annual meeting of the placename consultancies and
the Mapping Authority took place in Hønefoss in 2005 and in Tromsø in
2006.
· The Norwegian Names Association held its triennial
general assembly on November 10, 2006 where Olav Veka was elected as new
president (to follow Gunnstein Akselberg who served for nine years).
A number of works and
articles have been published since Professor Helleland’s last report:
· Volume 22 (2005) of the Norwegian journal of name
research, Namn og Nemne (ed. by Gunnstein Akselberg & Kristoffer
Kruken, in Norwegian with abstracts in English) contains three articles in
addition to the defense of Vidar Haslum.
· Vols. 42 and 43 of the information bulletin Nytt om
namn [News about Names] (ed. by Botolv Helleland & Klaus Johan Myrvoll,
only in Norwegian) appeared, providing many details regarding names activities
in Scandinavia.
He adds that, “A
number of articles have been published in other Scandinavian or international
journals and books, like the Swedish Namn
och bygd and Studia anthroponymica
Scandinavica.
Six Norwegian
scholars contributed to the proceedings of the 13th Nordic Congress of Onomastic Sciences in
Tällberg, Sweden, entitled Namnens
dynamik [The Dynamics of Names], NORNA-rapporter
80 (2005), ed. by Staffan Nyström. Person-
og stadnamn under den nordiske namnerenessansen [Personal Names and Place
Names during the Nordic Names Renaissance], Skriftserien nr. 116 Høgskolen i
Agder (2005), contains eleven papers read at the 34th NORNA
symposium in Dømmesmoen.
Another important
contribution to Norwegian placename research was the monograph Nøvn austa åsen (2005), a vernacular
expression meaning “names east of the hill”, dealing with settlement names in
Øystre Slidre.
Vigleik Leira
published a comprehensive book entitled Geografiske
navn i flere språk [Geographical Names in Various Languages] (2006), in
which a variety of endonyms and exonyms are presented.
A comprehensive
bibliography on Norwegian (and other Scandinavian) onomastic publications 2005,
is available at the NORNA web site:
http://www2.sofi.se/NORNA/Bibl/NORNAbibliografi2005.pdf
Flavia HODGES, Research Fellow of
the Asia-Pacific Institute for Toponymy, (Macquarie
University, Sydney, Australia) sends the following report for the Institute:
Following the
success of the international training course on toponymy held at Charles Sturt
University, Bathurst, in October 2004, APIT was invited to contribute to the
delivery of a further international course held in Malang, Indonesia in September
2005 and attended by a large number of Indonesian 
participants,
as well as visitors from Australia, Brunei, East Timor, Malaysia, Pakistan and
Sri Lanka. APIT Director Flavia Hodges
made presentations on the principles, policies and procedures of geographical
naming; legislative frameworks; models of national authorities; lexicology and
onomastics; the linguistics of placenaming; Indigenous placenaming in
Australia; methods of toponymic research; and the work of APIT and the
Australian National Placenames Survey (ANPS) in professional and vocational
training. Ms. Hodges was subsequently
appointed to the United Nations Group of Experts in
Geographic Names’ working party on toponymic training courses.
In October
2005 APIT organized a day conference on the theme “Aboriginal Placenames Old
and New” in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Committee for
Geographical Names in Australasia.
Throughout 2006 work has been under way on editing papers from that
meeting, along with others; into a successor volume to The Land is a Map (Pandanus Books 2003). This will be published in 2007, under the
editorship of Dr. Harold Koch and Dr. Luise Hercus of the Australian National
University, by ANU e-Press in the Aboriginal History Monographs series.
In December
2005 APIT ran a course ‘Researching Aboriginal Placenames’ at the New South
Wales Aboriginal Languages Research and Resource Centre. The fourteen participants represented a broad
range of local languages currently undergoing renewal: Dharug, Gamilaraay,
Gumbaynggir, Ngiyampaa, Wiradjuri and Yugambeh.
This week-long course represented a wrap-up to the series of twelve
workshops held in regional centers of the state between June 2004 and May 2005.
APIT Director
Flavia Hodges was invited to participate in a workshop held in Jakarta
following the August 2006 meeting of the Asia-Pacific South-East & Pacific
South-West Division of the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical
Names, and contributed a paper “Cultural Aspects of Toponymy,” although she was
unable to attend in person.
APIT has
continued to publish the free quarterly newsletter Placenames Australia, with issues in March, June, September and
December. A paper by Flavia Hodges on
“Language Planning and Placenaming in Australia” will appear in the journal Current Issues in Language
Planning in 2007.
Since
2000 APIT has been supported at Macquarie University by a grant from the
Vice-Chancellor’s Millennium Innovations Fund.
Unfortunately this support ends in December 2006 and the Institute has
been unable to attract sufficient funding from external agencies to continue
its operations in their present form.
The New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory Committee of the
Australian National Placenames Society will continue to operate as a technical
subcommittee of the NSW Geographical Names Board, thanks to the generous
sponsorship of that body. Members of the
Institute are in the process of setting up an incorporated association Placenames Australia, and expect to appoint Dr. Jan Tent of
Macquarie University’s Department of Linguistics as Director of the ANPS
(replacing David Blair -- who will continue, along with ex-APIT Director Flavia
Hodges, as a member of the Placenames Australia committee).
Denis
HUSCHKA, a research assistant at the German Institute for Economic Research
works with
Professor Jürgen Gerhards of the Free University Berlin, Institute of
Sociology; and Professor Gert G. Wagner of the German Institute for Economic
Research in a project
entitled: “Given
Names as Indicators for Measuring Social Change.” Mr. Huschka describes the project in the
following:
Given
names can be seen as useful indicators to monitor processes of social
change. Due to the unavailability of
appropriate data and privacy security restrictions, given names have not been
widely analyzed until now. The German
Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP) provides an outstanding and usable database.
The SOEP offers background information (education, occupation, sex, religion,
individual values, political orientations etc.) for named persons as well as
for the name givers, the parents.
This information can be used to analyze the determinants of changing
naming patterns.
Originally,
given names were surveyed to enable the right linkage between the household
members in the SOEP over time (SOEP is a longitudinal survey of households);
but they never have been used in a focused special analysis. Using SOEP data the group analyses:
a) Whether there are
secularization processes (measurement: the number of first names of Christian
origin);
b) Whether the importance
of family relationship is decreasing (measurement: number of children who are
named after their parents);
c) Whether social
class is losing its importance (measurement: homogeneity of names in social
classes);
d) Whether there are
processes of individualization (measurement: heterogeneity of names);
e) Whether there are
processes of globalization of culture;
f) Whether there are gender
differences; and
g) Whether first names can
be seen as an indicator of acculturation of several migrant sub-populations in
Germany.
The
processes mentioned can be used to look at differences between social strata,
the urban-rural split, the East-West split and ethnic groups.
Publications
to date include:
· “Naming Differences
between West and East Germany during Separation.” DIW Research Note 8, 2005;
· “Messung und Analyse des
sozialen Wandels anhand der Vergabe von Vornamen: Aufbereitung und Auswertung
des SOEP Documentation.” Berlin 2005:
http://userpage.fu-berlin.de/~gerhards/projektdoku_vornamen.pdf
· “Zur Erklärung der
Assimilation von Migranten an die Einwanderungs gesellschaft am Beispiel der
Vergabe von Vornamen.” Berliner Studien zur Soziologie Europas (BSSE) Nr. 5.
Derek M. JONES has been studying the identifiers (names)
that occur in the source code of software.
Bob JULYAN says that the highlight of his onomastic year came last December
when he “finally was able to attend an ANS meeting, as it was held in
Albuquerque.” He writes that his
“orientation has been applied toponymy,” and that he normally interacts
primarily with state and federal mapmakers and land managers, so “it was a
treat to hear papers given from different perspectives.” Mr. Julyan continues to write about
geographic names, and an article he wrote about names created by explorers
appeared in The Explorers Journal, the
publication of the Explorers Club. Consulting on the article were Don Orth and Roger PAYNE, who “also are fellows of the Explorers
Club.”
Mr. Julyan continues to chair the New Mexico
Geographic Names Committee, the official state liaison with the US
Board on Geographic Names, though, he adds, “the committee has been
inactive for lack of active cases to investigate.” As chair of the
committee, Mr. Julyan represented New Mexico at the 2006 COGNA
Conference in Boulder.
Finally, he says, “other projects also seem to find
me.” He has served as a reviewer for a
book about applied toponymy and as a referee for a book soon to be
published. He relates that: “these are exciting
times for our discipline, as new technologies and new ideas are emerging
rapidly.”
Helen KERFOOT, Emeritus Scientist
at Natural Resources Canada in Ottawa has,
during this period, undertaken activities as Chair of the United
Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names (UNGEGN) and, until July
2006, as Editor of the Onomastica
Canadiana, the journal of the Canadian Society for the
Study of Names (CSSN). She has also
served as Chair of the Ontario Geographic Names Board (OGNB).
Her toponymic and associated activities have been in
various areas:
UNGEGN:
· Chaired the 23rd Session of the United Nations Group
of Experts on Geographical Names (UNGEGN) in Vienna in March/April 2006.
· Participated in meetings of UNGEGN working groups:
Evaluation and Implementation in Seoul, November 2005.
· Participated in the UNGEGN divisional meeting for the
Norden Division in Oslo in October 2005, and for Asia South-East and Pacific
South-West in Brunei Darussalem, November 2005.
· Helped with the instruction at UNGEGN training courses
in applied toponymy in Vienna, March 2005 and in Maputo (Mozambique) in
September 2006.
· Coordinated input of various contributors for two manuals
on the standardization of geographical names for publication by the United
Nations:
§
Manual for the national standardization of
geographical names was published in
2005 (Donald Orth was a major contributor to this manual);
§
Technical reference manual for the standardization of
geographical names (including
Romanization systems, toponymic data text encoding standards, and country names
in the languages and scripts of the country) will be published in 2007.
· Prepared material for the update of the UNGEGN website
(http://unstats.un.org/unsd/geoinfo).
· Finalized a contribution “United Nations and
Geographical Names Standardization: Some Educational Aspects of the Programme”
for ONOMA 39 (Editor: Botolv HELLELAND).
She further reports:
· The Ninth United Nations Conference on the
Standardization of Geographical Names will be held in New York, August 21-30,
2007.
· UNGEGN documents and activities are detailed on the
UNGEGN website:
http://unstats.un.org/unsd/geoinfo
· Ms. Kerfoot completed her term as Editor of Onomastica Canadiana, and in June 2006 passed
this role over to Benoît Leblanc. She
“is sure he would be happy to hear from anyone interested in submitting an
article for the Society’s journal.” He
may be contacted at onomastica.canadiana@uqtr.ca
· The CSSN website is available in English:
(http://geonames.nrcan.gc.ca/info/cssn_e.php)
and in French:
(http://toponymes.rncan.gc.ca/info/cssn_f.php)
The table of contents for the issues of Onomastica Canadiana for December 2005
and June 2006:
· Michael Falk:
“Sunday’s child: Sonntag
and other surnames based on the days of the week;”
Vol. 88, No 1, June 2006
·
Reviews by: Marc-Alexandre Beaulieu, Benoît Leblanc.
On 26 and 27 of May 2007,
the CSSN will hold its annual meeting in association with the Congress of the
Humanities and Social Sciences, at the University of Saskatchewan in
Saskatoon. ANS members interested in
making a presentation should contact Yaîves Ferland, the program chair (yaives.ferland@drdc-rddc.gc.ca),
before 14 February. You may
access the CSSN website for further information about the Society, the call for
papers, past programs, etc. (http://geonames.nrcan.gc.ca/info/cssn_e.php)
The 2008 annual
meeting of CSSN will be held in conjunction with the International
Congress of Onomastic Sciences (ICOS) being held at York University,
Toronto, 17-23 August 2008. Contact: Sheila EMBLETON (embleton@yorku.ca).
Website: www.yorku.ca/vpaweb/ICOS2008/
Ms. Kerfoot continues to be particularly interested in
the United Nations training courses in toponymy for developing countries, and
the toponymy of Northern Canada, as well as that of Tristan da Cunha and other small islands of the world.
William
J. KIRWIN of the English Department of Memorial University of Newfoundland published the following items: Regional
Language Studies: Newfoundland (2005).
He writes that “A copy will be sent to any interested persons who
request one.” Contents include: Philip E.L. Smith, “Toponymy and Winter
Migrations;” Philip Hiscock, “Some Pronunciations and Metafolklore of Newfoundland;” Sandra Clarke, “A Note on
Several Unusual Fricative Pronunciations on the Southwest Coast of
Newfoundland;” William J. Kirwin, “Early Stages of [the name] St. John’s;” Jonathan Roper, “England
English Parallels for Newfoundland English Terms related to Charming” [to put
away]; Kirwin and Robert Hollett, “Place
Names of the Northern Peninsula: A New Edition – ADDENDA.” In addition,
Amanda Jernigan interviewed Professor Kirwin for her article “Mouth to Hand:
Can Newfoundland English Survive on Print Alone?” in Maissonneuve No. 21 (2006):48-52.
John Widdowson (UK) and Professor Kirwin
are corresponding with the editorial group at the University of British
Columbia (Stefan Dollinger, Laurel Brinton, Margery Fee) who are making plans
for a revision of the Dictionary of
Canadianisms on Historical Principles, and considering the problems of
including Newfoundland regionalisms presented in Dictionary of Newfoundland English (1982; 1990).
Researchers in the English Language
Research Centre (Sandra Clarke, Philip Hiscock, and Robert Hollett) are
assembling materials for a CD-ROM sampler of Newfoundland and Labrador dialects
containing over fifty examples of traditional speech. In addition they are creating a digitized
dialect atlas of English in the province based on surveys of Harold Paddock in
the 1970s and 1980s.
James KOENIG reports
that during the period he continued
his research into the structure and typology of personal names - and where
applicable, family names - in the non-Western world.
Adrian KOOPMAN, professor of Zulu Studies at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and newly
elected President of the Names Society of Southern Africa reports that:
In September 2006,
the Names Society of Southern Africa (NSA) celebrated its 25th
anniversary. It was in September 1981,
that Dr. Peter E. 
RAPER, immediate past-president of the NSA, on returning
from a visit to prominent onomasticians in the United States, called together,
in Pretoria, a group of interested names scholars, who founded the NSA.
The NSA has
recently (26th t0 29th November 2006) held its 14th
International Names Congress – the 25th Anniversary Congress. This
was held at the spectacular Ntshondwe Camp, situated high among rocky cliffs,
overlooking the rolling valleys of Ithala Game Reserve, in northern
KwaZulu-Natal.
The congress was
attended by 40 delegates, of whom, 30 read papers. Visitors from afar included
Professor Willy Van Langendonck of Leuven in Belgium, Professor Botolv
Helleland from Oslo, Norway, and Antti Leino from Helsinki, Finland, all of
whom read papers. Keynote speaker Flavia Hodges of Australia was unfortunately
obliged to withdraw. Professor Heinrich Loeffler of Basle, Switzerland, and his
wife also attended the congress. Dr Kokunre Agbontaen of the University of
Benin, Nigeria was our sole delegate from West Africa, and southern Africa was
well represented by delegates from Mozambique, Lesotho and Botswana, and well
as from the host country South Africa.
Professor Adrian
Koopman, vice-president of the NSA and Director of the Onomastic Studies Unit
at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, gave the opening keynote address –
“Twenty-five years of onomastic research in southern Africa”. The paper
concentrated on research produced at the 14 congresses of the NSA since 1981,
and the articles published in 18 volumes of the NSA journal Nomina Africana. This overview of
onomastic research looked at (1) the basic onomastic category researched
(toponymy, anthroponymy, literary onomastics, onomastic theory, etc.); (2) the
source of data (a particular language, a particular region/geographical area,
or a particular publication); and (3) the approach used (etymological,
morphological, phonological, socio-cultural, etc.). Koopman also looked at the
involvement of NSA members in UNGEGN, United Nations Toponymical Training
Courses, ICOS and ONOMA, and in onomastic teaching at southern African tertiary
institutions. Finally, Koopman named the top ten onomastic researchers in
southern Africa over the last 25 years, and the top ten institutions.
The speakers at the
congress covered a wide variety of onomastic topics. Toponymy was not a major
area, but a few papers were delivered, such as on the Zulu toponyms of Ithala
Game Reserve, the street names of an area in the Western Cape, and river and
valley names in Norway. Anthroponymy was a much more popular choice, and a
number of papers on African anthroponymy were read, covering Zulu, Xhosa,
Sotho, Tswana, Nigerian, and Malawian names. Literary onomastics was also well
represented, with discussion of the naming in Afrikaans, Northern Sotho,
Tswana, Southern Sotho and Zulu works. Other speakers spoke on names and
computers, and on colonialism and naming. Two rather unusual papers were
“Names, Number Plates and Identity”, and “An onomastic analysis of the names of
rock climbs”.
The congress braaivleis (barbecue) was enlivened by
an excellent performance of Zulu dancing by a young troupe from a local school.
Ithala Game Reserve management provided delegates with two 2-hour evening game
drives, and delegates who had arrived with their own transport were out every
morning and evening, providing the visitors with opportunities to view various
species of antelope, zebra, warthog, giraffe, wildebeest (gnus), and the speciality
of Ithala – rhinoceros.
At the Biennial
General Meeting of the Names Society held on the last day of the Congress,
outgoing president Dr. Peter E RAPER was thanked for his
outstanding contribution to onomastics in southern Africa over the past 25
years. Professor Adrian Koopman, vice-president since 1998, was elected new
president of the NSA, and in a break from the normal pattern, two
vice-presidents were elected: Professor Bertie Neethling from the Western Cape,
and Mr Luis Abrahamo of Maputo, Mozambique.
Professors Koopman,
John Hilton and Noleen Turner retained their respective portfolios of
Editor-in-Chief, Secretary-Treasurer, and Editorial Secretary, and Professor
Attie Coetser (Eastern Cape), Professor Themba Moyo (KwaZulu-Natal) and Dr.
Nobuhle Ndimande (KwaZulu-Natal) were elected as Executive Board members.
Professor Koopman
now provides a strong link between the Names Society of Southern Africa and
world onomastics in that he is also the first South African to be elected a
member of the Executive Board of the International Council of Onomastic
Sciences (ICOS), having being elected at ICOS 22 in Pisa, Italy, in 2005.
Laura KOSTANSKI is in her final year of doctoral studies at the
University of Ballarat, Australia. Her thesis topic is: What’s
in a Name? Attachment and Interference in Placename Based Identity and her
work is funded through an Australian Research Council grant, supported by the
Office of the 
Surveyor-General,
Victoria. She is investigating the
meaning of toponyms to people who are faced with a change in their local
placenames.
In
addition to her PhD studies, Ms. Kostanski is a member of the Victorian
Government’s Geographic Placenames Advisory Panel and has undertaken the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names
Training Course in Indonesia in 2005.
Her research interests “are extensive and focus on toponyms, identity,
attachment, community, sense of place, indigeneity, colonialism, mental
mapping, linguistics and history.”
Her publications for this period include:
· “Dual Naming: Recognizing Landscape Identities within
the Constraints of Government and Research Guidelines,” paper presented at the Indigenous Knowledges Conference,
University of Wellington, New Zealand, 28/06/2005.
· “That Name is OUR history: Divergent Histories of
Place,” paper presented at the Inclusive
Histories Australian Historical Association section of the Conference organized
by the International Committee of Historical Sciences, Sydney, Australia,
07/07/2005.
· “Reintroducing Indigenous Place Names – Lessons from
Gariwerd, Victoria, Australia, Or, How to Address Toponymic Dispossession in
Ways that Celebrate Cultural Diversity and Inclusiveness,” (with I. Clark)
paper co-presented with Professor Ian Clark at the Names Across Time and Space conference organized by the
International Committee of Onomastic Sciences, in Pisa, Italy, 01/09/2005.
· “‘Place Attachment and Toponymic Attachment: Are they
the same?’ Reflections on an Australian
Case Study Conducted in 2004,” (with I. Clark) paper co-presented with
Professor Ian Clark at the Names Across
Time and Space conference organized by the International Committee of
Onomastic Sciences, in Pisa, Italy, 01/09/2005.
· “Spurious Etymologies: Toponymic Books and Town Name
Identities of the Murray River” published in Victorian Historical Journal, vol. 76, no. 2, October 2005, pp.
211-224.
· “Toponymic Books and the Representation of Indigenous
Identities” in Hercus, L., Hodges, F. & Koch, H., Aboriginal Placenames Old and New, Aboriginal Studies Press:
Canberra, 2006. [In print]
· “Reviving Old Indigenous Names for New Purposes” (with
I. Clark) in Hercus, L., Hodges, F. & Koch, H., Aboriginal Placenames Old and New, Aboriginal Studies Press:
Canberra, 2006. [In print]
·
“The Politics of
Inventing Indigenous Place Names for Heritage Sites and Urban Precincts: the
Imperative of Authenticity?,” (with I. Clark) paper presented at the Place Names and Identities in Multicultural
Contexts Conference, organized by the Saami Institute, Karasjoka, Norway,
16-20th August 2006.
· “‘We’ll Remove Your Names, But Don’t Dare Remove
Ours!:’ Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Community Reactions to Renaming Practices
in Australia in the early 1990s” (with I. Clark) paper presented at the Place Names and Identities in Multicultural
Contexts Conference, organized by the Saami Institute, Karasjoka, Norway,
16-20th August 2006.
Éamon LANKFORD is
the Director of the Cork and Kerry Place
Names Survey in Cork City, Ireland.
Dr. Lankford provided a synopsis of where the Cork and Kerry
Microtoponymy Project in Southern Ireland stands:
Ireland’s entry to the European Union in 1972 brought
about huge economic, demographic, social and cultural changes. Migration to cities, urbanization, major
infrastructural development, changes in agricultural and fishing practices
along with the explosion of a mass media culture have altered forever Irish
people’s relationship with their place.
These changes along with the further decline of the Irish language as an
everyday medium and the breakup of the hitherto very close traditional
interaction of the older and younger generations have greatly impacted on the
knowledge, use and survival of native placenames in both rural and urban
Ireland.
The principal administrative unit in Ireland since the
thirteenth century has been the County of which there are thirty two. Each county is divided into smaller units
called Baronies which in turn are subdivided into Parishes which in their turn
are subdivided into Townlands. The
Townland is the smallest administrative division in the country, all other
territorial divisions -- counties, baronies and parishes being collections of
townlands. In County Cork, situated in
the Southern part of Ireland there are over 5,600 townlands which can vary in
size from around 20 to 700 acres. The
neighboring county of Kerry has some 3,800 townland units. Every townland, particularly in rural areas
may have its territory divided into several hundred fields, each having its own
boundary and specific minor name. Like
any other county in Ireland hundreds of thousands of minor placenames await
collection and mapping. The well thought
out methodology for the collection and mapping of microtoponymy underway in
Southern Ireland is as follows.
Dr. Éamon Lankford who had since the early 1970s been
collecting and mapping minor placenames throughout County Cork established the
Cork and Kerry Placenames Survey in 1996.
The objective of this initiative is to collect, research, collate and
map from both oral and literary sources the minor placenames of two counties in
the South of Ireland and establish by 2009 a County Placenames Archive
in each county to house the collection.
The Archive will function within the established Local Government
Library network. A small committee of
talented young university graduates was brought together in 1996 to help
organise and spread the survey methodology to every corner of the designated
survey area. An advisory council of
experts drawn from university, library, local government, educational and other
interests provided expertise.
The organizing of the survey involved contacting
community leaders, school authorities and enlisting the support of hundreds of
people who were known to be good carriers of local placenames. By means of public appeals, visits to
schools, lectures, articles, radio, television and press interviews the
Placenames Survey received very favorable media coverage and consequent
widespread public support. Once a local
structure has been put in place to get a survey underway in an area, a public
meeting attended by the Survey Director and members of the Survey Team is
arranged where details of the operation of the survey are given. Survey Maps are distributed to teachers,
community groups and a timescale is set for the conduct of the survey in each
area. During the survey period the
Survey Team continues to communicate with fieldworkers, school authorities and
other participants. On the completion of a survey in a particular area Survey
Maps are returned to a central office in Cork City where the work of collating
the data and presenting it in a user friendly format for consultation by the
public takes place. A sample of how the
collated data is being presented in the Placenames Archive can be viewed at http://www.placenames.ie. The information provided in the survey
compilation includes references to Parish and Townland names gleaned from both
manuscript and published sources. This
is followed in chronological order by a listing of minor names in each townland
which have been collected from oral and literary sources. The information on each name includes the
placename itself and the number given to it by the Survey Team on the Townland
Map in which it is situated. The name
and address of the Supplier and Collector of names, the date of collection,
variations of the name, information regarding derivation, descriptions of the
place or feature named, reference to any written sources for the name and any other relevant information are
recorded. Names are tape recorded
wherever possible.
The Irish Government’s National Training Authority
(FÁS), was approached in 1998 to fund a training scheme for young university
graduates who would pursue a practical course in the methodology of
systematically collecting and mapping from both oral and literary sources, the
minor placename heritage of an entire county.
The survey group now has on contract twenty fulltime staff, as well as
ten other part-time fieldworkers, funding for which is provided by two Irish
Government agencies as well as two Local Authorities and a number of corporate
interests. The school authority in over
450 Primary and Post primary schools along with teachers and their students are
helping to organize local surveys in co-operation with some 60 community organizations. Many others are volunteer fieldworkers who
have been participating in this unique Placenames Survey initiative which has
for ten years spearheaded the methodology for collecting and mapping Irish
placename heritage on a very large scale.
As the primary objective of the project is the
collection and mapping of placenames, the Survey Team is unable to engage in
research or answer questions about Irish placenames for others until the
Placenames Archive has been established at the close of 2008. Meanwhile, academic, technical and
institutional support towards the establishment of Ireland’s first County
Placenames Archive will be welcome.
André LAPIERRE is Assistant Dean and Secretary of the Faculty of Arts at
the University of Ottawa. In June 2006,
Professor Lapierre retired from the Geographical Names 
Board of
Canada after serving 22 years as representative of the French-speaking academic
community. He continues to be active in
several Working Groups and Divisions of the United Nations
Group of Experts on Geographical Names.
In addition to his new functions as Assistant Dean and Secretary of his
Faculty, he teaches Canadian French dialectology and onomastics. Dr. Lapierre’s presentations during this
period are:
· Digital Sound Files vs. Pronunciation Guides: A New Approach
to Linguistic Issues in Toponymy. Annual Meeting of the Geographical Names Board
of Canada. Ottawa, June 2006.
· Geoname Management in a Bilingual Context: The Ontario
Experience.
GeoTec Event 2006. Ottawa, June 2006.
·
The Geographical Names
Board of Canada and Aboriginal Toponymy: Assessing Twenty Years of Policy
Development and Management. Annual Meeting of the Canadian Society for the Study of
Names 2006. York University,
May 2006.
· English Exonyms in France.
23rd
Meeting of the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names, Vienna,
March 2006.
· Orality and Local Usage Conflicts in Native Geographical
Nomenclature.
23rd Meeting of the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical
Names, Vienna, March 2006.
· Cape Francis or French Cape?
Revisiting XVIth Century Huguenot Toponymy in Florida. American Name Society
Annual Meeting. Albuquerque, January 2006.
Professor Lapierre’s website is:
http://aix1.uottawa.ca/~lapierre.
Edwin D. LAWSON,
Professor Emeritus, State University
at Fredonia, reviewed A Dictionary of Jewish Surnames from Galicia
by Alexander Beider. Names: A Journal of Onomastics, 53(4), 315-321
and A Dictionary of German-Jewish
Surnames by Lars Menk. Names: A
Journal of Onomastics, 53(4), 322-328.
“Russian Naming
Patterns, 1874-1990” is to be published in Congress Acts. 21st
International Congress of Onomastic Sciences, Uppsala, August 19-24, 2002. (With Irene Glushkovskaya and Richard F.
Sheil.)
“The Mountain (Gorskij) Jews of Azerbaijan - Their 20th
Century Naming Patterns” will appear in Aaron DEMSKY (ed.) These Are the Names- Studies in Jewish Onomastics. Ramat Gan: Bar-Ilan University Press. (With
Farid Alakbarli and R.F.Sheil.)
Professor Lawson has also developed the
following websites during this period.
They may all be accessed via his website: http://edwindlawson.com
Jewish Language Research Website:
http://www.jewish-languages.org/onomastics.html
(This is a reprint, with permission, of the article
which appeared in:
· Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo (Ed.) Novi te ex nomine: estudos filolóxicos ofrecidos ao Prof. Dr. Dieter
Kremer (pp. 203-212). La Coruña [Spain]: Fundación Pedro Barrié de
la Maza)
The papers presented during the period by Dr. Lawson
are:
· “Estonian Naming Patterns, 1887-1991” American Name
Society, January 5, 2006, Albuquerque.
· “Russian Given Names: Their Pronunciation, Meaning,
and Frequency (Demonstration of website)” at the Canadian
Society for the Study of Names, May 26, 2006. (With Natan Nevo and Richard F. Sheil.)
Margaret LEE, a Professor
of English and Linguistics at Hampton University, wrote an article, “Historical
Perspectives on African American Personal Names and Naming Practices.” It will
be published in the language volume of the New Encyclopedia of Southern
Culture. The volume will be launched at the Southeastern Conference on
Linguistics at Northwestern Louisiana State University in Natchitoches, April,
12-14, 2007.
Professor Lee was featured in an
article, “The Importance of a Name,” in the August 7, 2006 issue of Jet magazine. The article discussed
African American names and naming practices.
Oleg LEONOVITCH who is a Professor of Foreign
Languages at the Department of Translation, Pyatigorsk Linguistic University in Russia reports that
in this period he continued his research into the structure and
typology of placenames in the countries of the English-speaking world. He also taught a course in
Pyatigorsk Linguistic University entitled
English and American Onomastics. He relates
that “throughout
2006 [he has] been preoccupied with finishing a
book manuscript of a Concise Dictionary
of English Nicknames.
He also served as a
research
advisor on several graduation papers and dissertations in the field of
onomastic sciences.
Professor Leonovitch
is presently preparing an article on “Problems of English and
American Onomastic Lexicography.”
His recent publications
include:
·
“Proper Names and the
Growth of the English Vocabulary”
·
“English Brand Names”
·
“Names in Idioms” (with Artemova A., in Foreign
Languages in School, Moscow; #1, 2005; #5,
2005; #4, 2003).
He concludes that his research interests “include onomastics, intercultural communication,
translation and background to English.”
Jesse LEVITT, Professor Emeritus of Foreign Languages at the University of
Bridgeport spoke in May 2006 at the Names Institute at Baruch College on “Names
in Samuel Beckett’s Plays ‘Endgame’ and ‘All that Fall’: Irony and Black
Humor.” In September 2006 he presented
at the American Society of Geolinguistics on “English versus Hebrew in Israel
Today.”
Laura Chao-chih LIAO, Associate
Professor at the National Chiayi University,
writes that while most of her publications were in non-onomastic fields 
this year she does have the
following works to report:
· “Linguistic
Analysis of Nicknames of Junior High School Students;” accepted by Journal of Language and Linguistics.
· “Linguistics,
Jokes, and Placenames of Chiayi;” a paper presented at Second Conference on
Chiayi Studies. November 10-11. National Chiayi University.
She adds
that “all jokes about placenames in Taiwan are linguistic, not universal or
absurd. They are in riddle forms too. Generally, they play the linguistic game
of homophones, re-parsing, and semantics.” Dr. Liao’s website is: http://ccns.ncku.edu.tw/~ccliao/
Stanley LIEBERSON,
who is a Professor of Sociology at Harvard University, and two graduate students, Christopher
Bail and Mark Pachucki, are completing the final stages of their comparative
study of international and intranational naming processes throughout the
twentieth century. They believe that
their results are relevant for the models of globalization and cultural
transmission currently in favor. In
addition, they “were obliged to develop novel ways of addressing some technical
and substantive problems” that they encountered. There hope is that their solutions will be
“at least useful starting points for others.”
Myra
LINDEN reports that she “finished polishing the manuscript
of the 6th grade grammar text of the Thinking Through Grammar (TTG) series that her late husband, Arthur
E. Whimbey, and she were working on when he died in August 2004.
She continues to
be intrigued by euphemisms for death in obituaries. She believes that “died” is more commonly
used in obituaries now and, less commonly, “passed away” as contrasted in the
past when euphemisms like “passed away” were much more usual than at present.
Dorothy
LITT has very much enjoyed reading Names:
A Journal of Onomastics. She has
nothing to report for the period.
Carol LOMBARD is currently
working on her Master’s Degree dissertation research project entitled: “Kitsiitsinihka'siminnoonistsi ‘our real
names’:” It is an Ethnolinguistic Study of Niitsitapi personal names. The overall objective of her research is to
provide an ethnographically-based account of the role played by personal names
and naming practices in Niitsitapi (Blackfoot) culture, through an
investigation of the apparently complex and multi-faceted relationships between
naming phenomena and other aspects of traditional Niitsitapi socioculture.
The main focus of her work over the past
twelve months or so has been on data collection. This has been accomplished primarily through
field work conducted on the Kainai (Blood) Reserve in southwestern Alberta,
Canada. An initial three-week trip to
the field was undertaken in October/November 2005, and a four-week follow-up
visit was made during September/October 2006.
The bulk of the empirical work has now been completed, and she is now in
the very early stages of writing the dissertation.
Her
research interests are in Linguistic Anthropology (especially Native
American-related), and cognitive linguistics.
During this period she published
“Conceptual Metaphors in Computer Networking Terminology” in Southern African Linguistics and Applied
Language Studies 2005, 23(2):177-185.
Emma Woo LOUIE responds: “The most memorable event for me this year was being
invited to speak at the annual ANS meeting in Albuquerque.” Her presentation, “Some Observations on
American Names of Chinese Origin” cited published explanations that confuse two
cultural points-of-view. She indicated
that the Chinese have always considered their two-character names as one
name. Confusion arises through the use
of the terms first name, middle name, and last name. These terms are
being used to explain Chinese names because they consist of three
characters. Thus two-character given
names are being defined as two separate names.
Unfortunately, the name style of transcribing each character as a
separate word also contributes to this impression. The space between the two-character name,
whether written in Chinese or English, must disappear in order for a true
understanding of these names to take place.
Ms. Woo Louie regrets
that she will not be able to attend the annual meeting in Anaheim this
year. She “would love to attend and listen
to the lectures and talks, but being elderly folks – I am 80 and my husband is
almost 90 -- it has become difficult to travel by ourselves.”
Mark
MANDEL is the Research Administrator for a Biomedical
Information Extraction project at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Mandel’s professional home page, which he
says “is much in need of updating,” may be found at
http://www.cis.upenn.edu/~mamandel/index.html. His personal home page can be found at http://www.speakeasy.org/~mamandel.
Philip W. MATTHEWS of Lower
Hutt, New Zealand, writes
that he continues with his work on two topics, New Zealanders’ personal names
and surnames and Maori names for countries.
He is also preparing a paper comparing the naming patterns of three
subsets of New Zealand sports representatives.
Michael
F. McGOFF, editor of The Ehrensperger Report and Vice
Provost at Binghamton University (SUNY), has again focused most of his energies
on his position at the 
University during this period. His duties as Treasurer of ANS, however, do
consume considerable energies. During this period, he continued to update
the websites of the American Name Society and its Toponymy
Interest Group (formerly PLANSUS).
The official website of
ANS may be viewed at:
http://wtsn.binghamton.edu/ANS.
Dr. McGoff reports that the ANS listserve, which is also resident on the
State University of New York at Binghamton computer system, now has over 200
members. The listserve is an active
forum for the discussion of onomastic issues.
Those interested in this Onomastic Discussion Group may join by sending
a simple command on email to: listserv@listserv.binghamton.edu. No “subject” is necessary, and
the message must contain only one line: sub ans-l yourfirstname yourlastname.
Erin
MCKEAN, the Editor of Verbatim, says that, “unfortunately, we haven't published anything about
names in 2006.” She does, however, have
several articles coming up for 2007 including two pieces by ANS member Robert RENNICK.
She adds that Verbatim
“remains interested in onomastic writing for the layperson, preferably
humorous,” and that queries and submissions should be directed to the editor at
editor@verbatimmag.com, or to PO
Box 597302, Chicago IL 60659?
Mary Rita Miller focused during the period on
literature.
Lucie A. MÖLLER writes to say that Dr. Cuthbert John Skead, distinguished Honorary
Member of the Names Society of Southern Africa, passed away peacefully on 28
May 2006. Born in 1915, Dr. Jack Skead
was educated at the Grey Institute, St. Andrew’s College and the University of
Reading. He achieved national and
international recognition for his meticulous scientific work in the fields of
ornithology, mammalogy and nature conservation, and was presented with the
Coronation Medal of Queen Elizabeth in 1953, the Cape Tercentenary Foundation
Certificate of Merit in 1957, the Gill Memorial 
Medal of the South African
Ornithological Society in 1966, and the Gold Medal of the Zoological Society of
Southern Africa in 1977.
The degree of
Doctor of Philosophy honoris causa was
conferred upon him by Rhodes University in 1982 and in 2004 by the University
of Port Elizabeth.
These achievements
by Jack Skead are indicative of the dedication and perseverance of this man of
science. His first contribution to
onomastics became known to the late Professor G.S. Nienaber and Dr Peter E.
Raper during their research into Khoikhoi placenames, namely his Zoo-Historical Gazetteer, published by
the Albany Museum in 1973. This book,
indispensable for any study of comparative toponymy, gives inter alia alternative names for places in Southern Africa, often providing
the clue to translations and the solution to the meanings of names.
In 1986 Dr. Skead
donated for research purposes his material on Xhosa placenames, described as
follows:
·
The Pilot
Gazetteer of Xhosa Placenames, contained in some 28 spring-clip files in
all. Apart from locus details, this
gazetteer gives alternative spellings of the names and historical variants;
also, relevant historical data with dates and references in brief, intended to
assist in determining origins, meanings, etc.
·
As companion to the above is a Gazetteer of Whiteman’s Placenames relevant to the Xhosa
Gazetteer. This enables someone with
knowledge of a White placename to ascertain its Xhosa equivalent. The primary purpose of the Gazetteer’s
compilation was to record White placenames in the region in the expectation of
their falling into disuse.
·
District lists of placenames compiled in order to
facilitate research into each district’s placenames without having to wade
through the total alphabetically-arranged Pilot
Gazetteer. Supporting data on Xhosa and Khoi activity has been included.
·
A detailed Bibliography accompanies the gazetteers,
all of whose references are keyed to this single bibliography.
·
A Xhosa mission station gazetteer has also been
complied as a basis for future research, not as a complete work.
Based on this
material, and other subsequently researched, the following publications
appeared from Dr Skead’s pen:
·
The Algoa Gazetteer, Port Elizabeth:
Algoa Regional Services Council, 1993.
·
Observations on
Khoekhoe Placenames in the Eastern Cape. Port Elizabeth: Western
District Council, 2000.
·
The Whiteman’s
Placenames and their Xhosa Equivalents. Summerstrand: Private
Publication, 2001.
·
Pilot Gazetteer of
Xhosa Placenames. Port Elizabeth: Port Elizabeth Museum, 2000.
·
A Pilot Gazetteer
of Some Khoekhoe Placenames within the Western Cape Province, the Eastern Cape
Province and the Northern Cape Province of the Republic of South Africa. Port Elizabeth:
Private Publication, 2002.
·
The Algoa Gazetteer
Revised 2005. Port Elizabeth: Bluecliff Publishers, 2005.
These publications,
and Dr. Skead’s raw material, represent the results of decades of intensive
research of relevant literature, maps, and field-work. Not only did Dr. Skead
collect and record all relevant data, but he submitted the material to
Professor Herbert Pahl of the Xhosa
Dictionary, and consulted other academics and mother-tongue speakers. In this way he has made an inestimable
contribution to onomastics, providing material for numerous articles,
dissertations, theses and books, and laying the foundation for future research.
Dr Jack Skead has left onomastics a legacy of inestimable value. The richness and abundance of relevant detail
has already provided the solutions to many Khoisan origins to Xhosa names. Of particular usefulness in such research are
the recording of the oldest forms of names, which can be analysed for possible
Khoisan origins. We know that names are
adapted over the course of time, and the further from the original the form and
pronunciation; the more difficult it is to determine the true origin and
meaning. Dr. Skead’s work will be a sine qua non for researchers, academics,
writers and everyone involved in Eastern Cape place-names in the future.
See also Peter E. RAPER.
Christian MORARU, an Associate
Professor of American Literature and Critical Theory and Director of Graduate
Studies at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Dr. Moraru’s website is:
http://www.uncg.edu/~c_moraru/.
Jennifer MOSS writes that she is “no
name scholar, but our site may be helpful in gathering name statistics if that is
of interest to the Society.”
Michael Dean MURPHY is Professor of
Anthropology at the University of Alabama; his website can be accessed at:
http://www.as.ua.edu/ant/murphy.htm. He regrets
that, by happenstance none of his publications and presentations this year
concerned onomastics, but he plans to “rectify that in the coming year.” Professor Murphy “looks forward to The Ehrensperger Report every year” saying
that “it is the best barometer of the state of onomastics research” he knows
of.
Tim NAU
presented a paper on first
names to the Arts and Letters Club of Toronto in January 2006. It was called “What Ever Happened to Tom,
Dick and Harry?” In June, he attended the annual meeting of the Canadian Society for the Study of Names and chaired one of the
sessions. He also collected and edited,
during the period in question, the book reviews published in two issues of
Onomastica Canadiana. He is its
Associate Editor.
Bertie NEETHLING is a Senior Professor in the Xhosa
Department at the University of the Western Cape in Bellville, South Africa. His monograph: Naming
among the Xhosa of South Africa (Mellen Press) is the first book length
study on Xhosa naming practices.
Joel NEVIS presented a paper entitled “From Arbacoochee to
Yazoo: Conjuring up Consonants in Muskogean Place-Names of the South” to
the 45th Annual Names Institute at
Baruch College, May 6, 2006. It is
to be included with the Proceedings of the Institute upon their publication.
W.F.H. NICOLAISEN, Distinguished Professor Emeritus
of English and Folklore at the State University of New York at Binghamton and currently Honorary Professor of English in
the School of Language and Literature at the University of Aberdeen (Scotland), was awarded an honorary doctorate by the
University of Aberdeen during this period.
The laureate address stressed, among other things, his contributions to,
and achievements in, name 
studies. In part, the citation read:
Tuesday, July 4, at 11.00am
WFH (Bill) Nicolaisen (DHC) [Doctor Honoris Causa]
Distinguished scholar in folklore and contemporary urban legends.
W F H (Bill) Nicolaisen has been an Honorary Research Professor at the University
of Aberdeen since 1992. He is a distinguished scholar, whose interests include
folklore and placenames. An authority on contemporary urban legends, Bill
Nicolaisen is a former President of the Folklore Society. He has also been a
Visiting Professor at the Ohio State University, the University of Aarhus
(Denmark) and the University of Edinburgh.
Professor Nicolaisen is one of the most respected and popular scholars
working in onomastics, the study of proper names of all kinds and the origins
of names, and is the author of several works on Scottish Place-Names. In addition to these books, he has published
more than 700 articles and reviews.
He writes that health problems prevented him from
being as active in his continuing onomastic pursuits as he would have liked to
have been but these problems have now been successfully attended to, allowing
an optimistic outlook for the completion of several projects, particularly his Dictionary of Scottish Place Names for
which his extensive manuscript collections are now being digitized with the
help of a lexicographer-cum-name scholar of the Scottish Language Dictionaries
in Edinburgh and the support of the Language Committee of the Association for
Scottish Literary Studies.
A number of articles and reviews were published during the report
period, including contributions to the Reallexikon
der germanischen Altertumskunde, the Encyclopedia
of Language and Linguistics and the Encyclopedia
of American Folklife, reviews in Names:
A Journal of Onomastics, Fabula
and the Journal of American Folklore. He also published introductions to Romans in Moray by Ian Keillar and Cultural Contacts in the North Atlantic
Region: the Evidence of Names.
Professor Nicolaisen continued to teach courses in the Centre for Lifelong
Learning and the Elphinstone Institute. He also gave several public lectures on
onomastic matters.
Alleen
NILSEN, and Don NILSEN, Professors of English at the University of
Arizona, are
the incoming Co-Presidents of the American Name Society. They have been preparing a series of
PowerPoint presentations on various aspects of names. So far they have
prepared the following (all of which are available from the Nilsens):
·
“Nilsen Names Research;”
·
“Names in Sherman Alexie’s The Lone
Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven (and in Smoke Signals);”
·
“Names in Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s
Game;”
·
“Names in Sandra Cisneros’ House on
Mango Street;”
·
“Names in Ian Martel’s Life of Pi;”
·
“Names in J. K. Rowling’s Harry
Potter books;”
·
“Names in Louis Sachar’s Holes;”
·
“Names in Daniel Handler’s Lemony
Snicket’s Series of Unfortunate Events;”
·
“Names and Naming in Young Adult Literature.”
Their Names and Naming in Young Adult Literature will be published as a
book by Scarecrow Press in 2007.
Frank NUESSEL, Professor of Linguistics at the
University of Louisville had another very productive year. His publications
include:
· “Figurative Language: Semiotics.” In: K. Brown (ed.),
2006. Encyclopedia of Language &
Linguistics, 2nd ed. Oxford: Elsevier. V. 4: 446-459.
· “Emblems.” In: K. Brown (ed.), 2006. Encyclopedia of Language & Linguistics,
2nd ed. Oxford: Elsevier. V. 4: 125.
· 
“Language:
Semiotics.” In: K. Brown (ed.), 2006. Encyclopedia
of Language & Linguistics, 2nd ed. Oxford: Elsevier. V. 6:
665-679.
· Article.
"Pictography: Semiotic Approaches". In: K. Brown (ed.), 2006. Encyclopedia of Language & Linguistics,
2nd ed. Oxford: Elsevier. V. 9: 591-599.
· “Semiology vs. Semiotics.” In: K. Brown (ed.), 2006. Encyclopedia of Language & Linguistics,
2nd ed. Oxford: Elsevier. V. 11: 193.
· “Language as/and Identity.” In: R. Williamson, L. G. Sbrocchi & J.
Deely (eds.) Semiotics 2003: Semiotics
and National Identity. Ottawa: Legas. 2005, 354-366.
· “Language Games in Spanish.” Hispania 89(1): 151-153.
· Carmen Fought. Chicano English in Context. Lingua 116: 903-908.
(Review)
· Necrology. In Memoriam. Gianrenzo P. Clivio. Italica 83 (2006), 5-6.
· Introduction. Semiotica
161: 1-7. Special issue of Semiotica
guest edited by Frank Nuessel. Topic: Perspectives on Metaphor.
· Note. First AP
Italian Language and Culture Exam and First AP Reading in 2006. AATI Newsletter (fall 2006), p. 8.
· L. Thomas, et al. Language,
Society and Power: An Introduction. Language
Problems and Language Planning 29(3): 306-310. (Note)
· L. Callahan. Spanish/English Codeswitching in a
Written Corpus. Language Problems and
Language Planning 30(1): 83-86.
(Review)
· J. Gibbons and E. Ramírez. Maintaining a Minority
Language: A Case Study of Hispanic Teenagers. Language Problems and Language Planning 30(1): 86-89. (Review)
· Spanish Word
Puzzles. Hauppauge, NY: Barron's.
· Special Issue of Semiotica
(# 161) “Perspectives on Metaphor” edited with introduction by Professor
Nuessel. This was a two-year project. This issue contains essays by the top
international scholars in metaphor research.
· Kentucky Foreign Language Conference. April 21, 2006.
Lexington, KY. “The New AP Italian Language and Culture Course and Exam.”
· “Five Sets of Ideas for the Spanish Classroom.” AATSP
Convention. Salamanca, Spain. June 28-July 2, 2006.
· “Meet the Development Committee.” National AP Conference, Orlando, FL, July 14,
2006 (with Colleen Ryan-Scheutz and Ida Giampietro Wilder).
· “Listening Strategies in Italian.” National AP
Conference, Orlando, FL, July 14, 2006 (with Colleen Ryan-Scheutz).
· “The Advanced Placement Italian Language Culture
Course and Exam.” Youngstown State University. 6th Annual Conferenza
della lingua italiana. October 27, 2006.
· “Proficiency: Content-based language learning.”
ACTFL-AATI Meeting, November 17, 2006. Nashville, TN.
· “The First Year of the AP Italian Language and Culture
Course and Exam.” ACTFL-AATI. November 18, 2006. Nashville, TN.
· “Cocoliche:
Literary Manifestations of an Italo-Hispanic Dialect.” MLA. December 2006.
Philadelphia, PA. December 27, 2006.
He also prepared reviews for an AP Italian Language
and Culture course. This involves the
ongoing preparation of reviews of materials for the course and for an
Exam. The first exam was in May
2006. He reviewed the following for that
Web site. The Web site address is:
http://www.apcentral.collegeboard.org/italian.
· Balboni and M. Cardona. Storia e testi di letteratura per stranieri. Perugia: Guerra.
· D. Aust and L Stuart. Pronto! Chi ascolta? Perugia: Guerra.
· Ignone. Primi piani
sugli italiani. Testo di lettura di lingua e civiltà. Perugia: Edizioni
Guerra.
· Virtual Uffizi. http://virtualuffizi.com.
· Mollica. Teaching
and Learning Languages. Welland: Editions Soleil.
· C. Boselli, M. Morgana, and M. Saviotti. Superci@o.it. Corso di lingua italiana per
la scuola superiore. Brescia: Editrice La Scuola.
· M. A. Covino Bisaccia and C. Fideli. Italiani illustri-Giuseppe Verdi.
Perugia: Edizioni Guerra.
· M. A. Covino Bisaccia and M. Didonna. Italiani illustri-Enzo Ferrari. Perugia:
Edizioni Guerra.
· C. Calmanti and P. Calmanti. Appuntamento a… folklore, tradizioni, storia, gastronomia. Perugia:
Edizioni Guerra.
Lastly, Professor Nuessel was interviewed by
journalists for:
· “Elder Life Styles Face Multiple Challenges.” Catholic Explorer. August 2, 2006.
· Names for older adults. Linell Smith. Baltimore Sun. November 19, 26, 2006.
Roger L.
PAYNE, Executive Secretary (1993-2006),
U.S. Board on Geographic Names, U.S. Geological Survey, reports that he retired
from active service in the Federal Government on May 31, 2006. However, he was asked to continue as a
re-hired annuitant (consultant) to assist during office transition and
realignment. Specifically, he monitors
the websites of the Geographic Names Information System
(GNIS) and the U.S. Board on Geographic Names responding to
inquiries and analyzing notifications of errors and new data submitted. He also still participates on behalf of the
U.S. Geological Survey in the Pan American Institute of Geography and History
(PAIGH) course on geographic names.
Payne was honored upon retirement by the naming of a
mountain in Antarctica for him. The
actual citation may be viewed in Appendix 6.
Much of the work of the GNIS staff
remained devoted to developing quality assurance procedures for use with state,
regional, and local partnerships for rapid collection of geographic names
data. Partnerships have been developed
so far with the states of Delaware, West Virginia, and North Carolina with
programs initiated in late 2005 in Nevada, Florida, and Oregon. Also, a new version of the GNIS database was
implemented, which greatly enhances the data management aspects as well as
provides a new user website with numerous enhancements, capabilities, and
functionality. It is also more
intuitive. See it at: http://geonames.usgs.gov.
Mr. Payne reports that revision of Place Names of
the Outer Banks is still in progress, and even though the supply volumes
numbers at less than 100 remaining, and the publisher has gently asked for a
revision; there has been little progress because of the activities associated
with retirement and moving. He also
provided three book reviews (not toponymic), on Earth Science and Geography,
each of which were children’s series.
Representing the United States along with a delegation
of six Mr. Payne attended the 23rd Session of the United Nations Group
of Experts on Geographical Names in Vienna, Austria 28 March - 4
April where numerous informational and position papers were
presented (three by Mr. Payne), and numerous toponymic topics, procedures, and
policies were discussed.
The 18th course in applied toponymy offered
by the Pan American Institute of Geography and History (PAIGH)
was held in Santiago, Chile, August 28 – September 8, 2006. There were 21 students, and thus far, almost
500 students have participated in the courses where they receive lectures in
various methods and procedures for standardizing geographic names as well as
participating in a field exercise for collecting data, and an automation
workshop. Mr. Payne organized the course
and served as principal instructor.
Payne also attended officially and participated in the
annual conference of the Council of Geographic Names
Authorities (COGNA) 2006, October 17- 21, 2006 in Boulder, Colorado where
numerous policy issues were discussed and debated, and the Board on Geographic
Names’ Domestic Committee held its monthly meeting. Mr. Payne may be emailed at either rpayne@usgs.gov
or yadkin@comcast.net]
Barry POPIK notes that he “got married in March and
moved to a suburb of Austin in September.”
On a personal note he and his wife “found we could get three times the
living space for one-third the price of a NYC studio apartment.” Mr. Popik collaborated with Gerald
COHEN on Studies in Slang, Part VII.
He also contributed to the Yale Book of
Quotation, (Fred Shapiro, editor).
Since moving to Texas, he has added a “Texas” section to his “Big
Apple” website: (www.barrypopik.com) that includes Texas words and
phrases. There are many Texas food names
on the list, and, he adds, he hopes to start a Texas Food Museum.
More work by Mr. Popik may be found in Comments on Etymology and daily on the American Dialect Society
web site, www.americandialect.org, in the archives.
Terrence M. POTTER of the
Department of Arabic Language, Literature and Linguistics at Georgetown
University reports that he
has nothing in the area of onomastics to report for this year. He wishes his colleagues well and a very
Happy New Year!
Margaret
S. POWELL is Government Information Librarian Emerita, The College of Wooster Libraries. She responds that notification
from colleagues of contributions to the literature of geographic names greatly
facilitates her building of the database for the new edition of her
bibliography covering the published literature on geographic names in the
United States and Canada.
Unfortunately, she writes,
“once again, technology has inserted a roadblock in my work.” Support for the bibliographic software, ProCite™ (Macintosh version), which she
has been using for more than twenty years to build databases in two major
projects, has been discontinued. She is
exploring ways to proceed with the projects and hopes to convert the voluminous
bibliographic files to another program or platform.
Richard R. RANDALL is Executive Secretary Emeritus of
the U.S. Board on Geographic Names.
He writes that in responding
to a request from Mark Monmonier, he submitted an article on the U.S.
Board on Geographic Names to be included in Cartography
in the Twentieth Century, the 6th edition of the History of Cartography. The focus of the article is on how
the Board’s work during that time was related to cartography. “When the
Board was founded in 1890, there was increasing knowledge that so many official
U.S. maps and charts had names incorrectly spelled or mis-located. The Board’s principal role was to
create and implement policies requiring agencies producing maps and charts to
assure their accuracy regarding names. Although the time span for the
article was identified from 1900 to 2000, the editors permitted additional
years before and after that time if logically required.” For that reason Dr. Randall’s work starts
with 1890 and extends a few years after 2000. Also, he says, the article
had to be “no more than 1300 words.” This made it difficult for him, given the
importance of the Board and the vast number of publications describing its
responsibilities and accomplishments. While over the years many talented
and dedicated people were involved with the Board, Dr. Randall regrets
that could give attention to only a few: Meredith “Pete” Burrill, Roger PAYNE, and Donald Orth. He also mentioned his
functions. One pertinent quotation he decided to extract was from
Dr. Francisco Gall, whom, he notes, is an internationally recognized expert
from Guatemala who fully understood how names were an essential cartographic
ingredient: ‘A map without names is a dumb map’.”
Peter E. RAPER reported from South
Africa: The New Dictionary of South
African Place Names, by Peter E.
Raper, was published mid December 2004 by Jonathan Ball Publishers, 421
pages. It is available on the Internet
from www.kalahari.net or
www.exclusivebooks.com.
(See also, Lucie A. MÖLLER and Adrian KOOPMAN.)
Henry A. RAUP continues his work on
the placenames of Mount Desert Island, Maine and is now preparing a final
draft.
Alan RAYBURN attended the annual meeting of the Canadian Society for the
Study of Names, held at York University in Toronto, May
27-28 where he delivered a paper entitled “North of the 49th
Parallel as a Stand-in for Canada.” He elaborates that “the total length of the land and water boundary between
Canada and the United States is 8,893 km (5,526 miles). Of this, the 49th parallel as part of the
boundary is only 2,274 km (1,413 miles). Yet the expression “North of the
49th Parallel” has come to describe the whole boundary between Canada’s provinces
and the lower 48 states of the United States.
In the magazine Saturday Night, June 1979, the following
statement was made: ‘Eugene McNamara, of the creative writing programme at the
University of Windsor, is one of those Amero-Canadians who straddle the 49th
parallel without apparent difficulty.’
As Winston Churchill might have said: Some creation, some
straddle. The question was: how did the phrase ‘North of the 49th
Parallel’ become a Stand-in for Canada?”
Mr. Rayburn attended the annual meeting of the
American Name Society in Albuquerque, New Mexico, January 5-8 where he
presented a paper on using the word “corruption” in onomastic
publications. For more than a century, he says, writers describing the
origins of placenames often used the word “corruption” to describe unacceptable
variant spellings of names. “Canadian professors André
LAPIERRE and William Davey have observed that the use of the word
‘corruption’ in onomastic texts was pejorative.” In the second edition of his book, Naming Canada (2001), Mr. Rayburn points
out, “the five references to ‘corruption’ have been replaced by neutral words
or phrases.” A review of the literature,
he indicates, has revealed “a marked difference between professors of English,
who have rarely used the word ‘corruption’ in their writings and authors from
other disciplines, especially geography, who have frequently used it.
Working with Christine DeVINNE
and Ed LAWSON, Mr. Rayburn chaired the ANS Nominations
Committee to fill the vacant positions of the Society from 2007 to 2009.
Mr. Rayburn attended the Council of Geographic Names
Authorities (COGNA) in Boulder, Colorado, October 17-22 where he “found most of
the presentations to be excellent” and he plans to attend the annual ANS
meeting in January, 2007 in Anaheim, California.
Mr. Rayburn reports that the homepage
for biographies of deceased specialists in North American name study (www.wtsn.binghamton.edu/onoma)
remains active. A biography of William BRIGHT will
be contributed in early 2007. Professor
Bright arranged the COGNA sessions in Boulder before his death on October 15.
Dean REILEIN, a retired
librarian from Eastern Connecticut State University, has no activity to report
for this period.
· An article on place nicknames in Kentucky Humanities in October 2005.
· “Confessions of an Occasional
Storyteller;” Tennessee Folklore Society
Bulletin, Vol. 61(1), 2005.
· “Rennick’s Mills” (part of an ongoing
series on Kentucky mill names); The
Millstone, Vol. 4(2), Fall 2005.
· “The Post Offices of Jackson County,
Kentucky;” LaPosta, Vol. 36(6), Dec.
2005 - Jan. 2006 and Ibid, Vol. 37(1), March2006.
· “How to Study Place Names” Names: A Journal of Onomastics, Vol.
53(4), December 2005.
· “Folklore” The Journal of the Magoffin County (Ky) Historical Society, Winter 2005
– 2006.
· “Oh, Woe Is Me” (on Kentucky placenames)
Kentucky Humanities, April 2006.
· The
Post Offices of Kentucky’s Gateway—Buffalo Trace Area, (a book) published by The Depot of Lake
Grove, Oregon, 2005.
· The
Post Offices of the Kentucky River’s North Fork to be published by the Depot, Winter 2006 – 2007.
· “The Post Offices of Lee County, Kentucky”
LaPosta, Vol. 36, Aug—Sept. 2005.
· “Small Series of Tidbits” Newsletter of the Kentucky Storytelling
Association, Vol. 3, August 2005.
· “The Post Offices of Knox County,
Kentucky” - in two parts, LaPosta,
Vol. 37(4), September 2006 and Vol. 37(5), Oct - Nov. 2006.
· “A Change of Pace” (An East Kentucky Tale)
Kentucky Humanities, Oct. 2006, 14.
· “Rufus Reed’s Accounts of Some Martin
County Place Names” Sandy Valley Heritage,
Vol. 26 (3), Sept. 2006.
He also writes that “manuscripts for six other Kentucky post
office books are now in press or in preparation.
He and his committee “are currently involved in adding nearly
100,000 known Kentucky place and feature names to the GNIS data base (for a
Phase Two federal contract.)”
The planning for the COGNA Conference is currently underway. It will be held in Lexington, Kentucky
October, 1 - 6, 2007.
Mr. Rennick continues to discuss the ongoing Kentucky placenames
survey in college classes and at state, regional, and local meetings. He continues to serve as the chair of the
Kentucky Geographic Names Committee (which is affiliated with the US Board on
Geographic Names).
Jennifer
RUNYON continues to serve as Senior Researcher in the Geographic Names Office
at the U.S. Geological Survey in Reston, Virginia. In 2006, she was appointed deputy to the
Executive Secretary, U.S. Board on Geographic Names/Domestic Names Committee
(DNC). She is responsible for
researching all toponymic issues prior to their consideration by the DNC. She also answers toponymic inquiries from
Federal, Tribal, State, and local agencies and the general public, and provides
support for the maintenance of the Geographic
Names Information System (GNIS). In
October 2006, Ms. Runyon attended the annual conference of the Council
of Geographic Names Authorities (COGNA) in Boulder, Colorado, where she
participated in the monthly meeting of the DNC and in the annual State-Federal
Roundtable.
Maggie SCOTT, Editor of Scottish Language Dictionaries,
published “Previck and Lickprivick: Onomastic Connections in South-west Scotland,” Nomina 29, pp. 115-28.
The findings in her dissertation:
The Germanic Toponymicon of
Southern Scotland: Place-name Elements and Their Contribution to the Lexicon
and Onomasticon are available to researchers at: www.scuilwab.org.uk and www.dsl.ac.uk.
The website for Scottish Language Dictionaries is: www.scotsdictionaries.org.uk
Jack SHREVE writes that he
tries “to pack onomastic
references” into everything he publishes.
Ralph
SLOVENKO, Professor
Law and Psychiatry at the Wayne State University Law School published:
· “Euphemisms,” Journal of Psychiatry & Law 33(2005)
: 533-548
· “Goodbye Fido,” American Journal of Forensic
Psychiatry 27(2006) : 73-76.
Grant SMITH, Professor of English and
Coordinator of Humanities at Eastern Washington University, reports that his
publications for the period are:
· “Literary Onomastics and Literary Theory: An
Introduction to Essays in English.” Onoma 40.
· 
“Teaching
Onomastics in the United States.” Onoma 39.
He presented:
· “Language, Literature, and the Teaching of
Onomastics,” Canadian Society for the Study of Names,
Toronto. May 2006;
· “A Semiotic Theory of Names.” Linguistic Society of
America, Albuquerque. January 2006;
· “Names from the World in Shakespeare’s Tempest.” Modern Language Association, Washington, D.C.
December 2005.
· “Some Practical Distinctions between Names and
Features.” Council of Geographic Name Authorities, Portland, OR. October 2005.
· “The Semiotic Functions of Names.” International
Congress of Onomastic Sciences, Pisa 22, Italy. August 2005.
Paul
SORVO says that “regarding names, I cannot get away from them. I have continued gathering names of places
where members of our church, the Laestadian Lutheran Church, live or have
lived in North America since the 19th century.” Mr. Sorvo has gathered about 500 placenames
“with some overlap because of people in neighboring congregations live in the
same populated area.”
He has also attempted to gather the names of the congregations in
Finland and has sought literature on the origins of the names of the places. So
far, he admits, he has “not been successful” at this and requests any help
possible from another ANS member who has studied placenames in Finland. He is especially interested in hearing about
sources (either in Finnish or English) in this area.
He is presently involved in a Finnish-English
Biblical Term Glossary/Dictionary with idioms from Scripture as examples,
wherever possible. It had its beginnings
in a Finnish-Estonian Glossary and
“with the approval of our church’s counterpart in Finland; it was first
expanded to English.” The part-time
working group is now considering a trilingual glossary/dictionary -
Finnish-English-Spanish. A French
trilingual would be helpful also, “as our potential American users do not all
know the Finnish language but could use the Spanish and French because we do
mission work in Ecuador and Togo.”
Mr. Sorvo has also done some translation and editing of articles
for his church paper and has written some articles for local publications.
Alexandra SUPERANSKAYA made a reprint of her Dictionary of Russian Personal Names (Moscow, 2006) and
published two articles:
· “Denotations of Orders and Medals -
Названия
орденов и
медалей - in Munuscula linguistica. In honorem Alexandrae Cieslikowa oblata.
Krakow, 2006. P. 457 - 471.
·
“Onomastic Theories at the Beginning of the 21st century. -
Ономастические
теории
начала ХХШ
века. - Ономастическое
пространство
и национальная
культура.
Материалы
Международной
научно-практической
конференции.
14-16 сентября 2006 г.
Улан-Удэ, 2006. С. 5 - 23.
She also attended the Conference in Ulan-Ude and presented her paper there.
Ken TUCKER published “The Cultural-Ethnic-Language Group Technique as Used in the Dictionary of American Family Names
(DAFN);” and “The Dictionary of American Family Names and French Unexplained Entries”
in Onomastica Canadiana, Volume 87 No
2.
Dr. Tucker was an
invited speaker at 2006 annual meeting of the American Name Society in
Albuquerque where he read his paper “Fingerprints and Entropy: Comparing
National Distributions of Forenames and Surnames.” An article based on this
material has been accepted for publication in Nomina.
He has submitted a
paper to ANS for publication in Names: A
Journal of Onomastics based on his talk to the annual meeting of the Canadian Society for the Study of Names in Toronto entitled “Increased Competition and Reduced Popularity – U.S.
Forename Trends of the Twentieth Century.”
A speaker at the Royal Geographic Society annual
general meeting in London, September 2006, he delivered an address on “The CEL
Group Technique as used in the Dictionary
of American Family Names.
Presently he is preparing an article entitled “Reaney
& Wilson Redux.” In it, three
questions are asked of this seminal work of Reaney and Wilson: What did they mean by surnames? How many
surnames are included in their work?
Were the names extant at the time of publication?
Dr. Tucker also began talking to marketers about the
possible use of surnames in indicating purchase preferences.
Willy VAN
LANGENDONCK writes to say that he published the following:
· “Part 1 - Basic Concepts;” “Chapter 14 -
Iconicity.” In: Handbook of Cognitive
Linguistics. Ed. by D. Geeraerts & H. Cuyckens. Oxford University
Press. (To appear.)
· “Taalfilosofie en linguïstiek als
complementaire benaderingen van taal.”
Review article van: W.A. de Pater en P. Swiggers, Taal en teken. Een
historisch-systematische inleiding in de taalfilosofie. (Wijsgerige
Verkenningen 21). Leuven: Universitaire Pers; Assen: Van Gorcum, 2000. Leuvense
Bijdragen 92, 2003 [2005], 1-16.
· “Proper Names and Forms of Iconicity.” In:
Willems, Klaas, ed., Special Issue ‘Syntactic Categories and Parts of Speech’
of Logos and Language. Journal of General Linguistics and Language Theory
5/2, 2004 (Tübingen: G. Narr), p. 15-30.
· “Semantic Considerations in Recent
Onomastic Research: a Survey, in: History
of the Language Sciences. An International Handbook on the Evolution of the
Study of Languages from the Beginnings to the Present (Handbooks of Linguistics
and Communication Science). Ed. by S. Auroux, K. Koerner, H.-J. Niederehe
& K. Versteegh. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter, 2004.
· “Vondelingennamen en hun classificatie.”
Plenaire Vergadering van de Koninklijke Commissie voor Toponymie en
Dialectologie, Brussel, 27.01.2003. Naamkunde 2004, 1-10.
· “Proper Names and Proprial Lemmas.” Proceedings
of the XXIst International Congress of Onomastic Sciences (Uppsala
2002), ed. by Eva Brylla and Mats Wahlberg, vol. I, p. 315-323. Uppsala: SOFI.
2005.
· “Theory and Typology of Proper Names.” Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. (To appear
in 2007.)
· “Proper Names as the Prototypical Nominal
Category.” Keynote address of the 13th International Congress of the
Names Society of Southern Africa (Maputo, September 27-30, 2004).
· “Not Common Nouns but Proper Names are the
Prototypical Nouns.” Paper read at the 22nd International
Congress of Onomastic Sciences (Pisa 2005). (To appear.)
Ren VASILIEV, Associate Professor
and Chair of the Department of Geography at State University of New York
College at Geneseo, is the editor 
of
NAMES: A Journal of Onomastics, the
journal of the American Name Society.
She is a member of the New York State Committee on Geographic Names.
David WADE reports that during the
summer of 2005, he submitted a proposal for a $1.5 million grant to the US
National Institutes of Health (NIH) entitled, “The Federal Project: Onomastic
Based Creation of Bioactive Peptides.”
The application proposed making peptides based on the personal names of
all 536 elected members of Congress. He
writes that the proposal “was based upon my proven methodology for converting
names composed of letters of the English alphabet into biologically active
chemicals, called peptides.” See:
http://wade-research.com/images/COLINPOWELL_10-25-04_.pdf
Dr. Wade
says that “the technology was originally developed in the lab of 1984 Nobel
Laureate in Chemistry, R.B. Merrifield, at Rockefeller University. The peptides so created will have a variety
of biological properties, sometimes including useful medical properties.” The grant application was not approved,
“although the reviewers seemed interested in the concept.”
During the
period Dr. Wade presented a talk about the chemical method entitled, “A method
to create bioactive peptides from personal names.” at Ramapo College, in
Mahwah, New Jersey, in December 2005. In
addition he published an article in a New Jersey biotech industry publication, LifeSciTech, about the chemical method
of converting personal names into Peptides:
“What’s in a name?” LifeSciTech Q1 (2005) 4(1): 14-15.
A
participant in the 45th Names Institute
at Baruch College, New York City, in May 2006, he presented a talk entitled,
“Geolinguistics of Names: A Physical Chemical Perspective.” The talk described a modification of the
chemical approach to onomastics, and utilized computer based comparisons of the
chemical energy of names.
In response to
a comment made to Dr. Wade by Professor Leonard R.N. Ashley during the 45th
Names Institute, he was stimulated to find an alternative method to compare the
energies of names and developed a simple method based on acoustical
energies. The first report of this
method was published in an article, “Determining the Energies of Names” in Wade
Research Foundation Reports (2006) 2: 1-3.
http://wade-research.com/images/Name_Energy_05-08-06_.pdf
The
acoustical method of name study is more direct and less expensive than chemical
methods of name study, and he is continuing the acoustical work in the hope of
finding some scientific basis for name preferences.
In August
2006 he submitted a manuscript to Names:
A Journal of Onomastics entitled, “Natural Science Approaches to
Onomastics” which summarized the chemical and acoustical approaches for
studying names.
His
non-onomastic work is in the area of medical biochemistry, specifically novel
peptide antimicrobial agents. In the
past, this work has been done at Rockefeller University, New York City,
Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, and Helsinki University, Finland, but it
currently is being accomplished through the Wade Research Foundation, based in
New Jersey. “This work is of importance
because there is currently a worldwide epidemic of antibiotic resistant
microorganisms, and an urgent need to develop new antimicrobial drugs.” Dr. Wade’s publications in this area during
the period were:
·
“Antimicrobial
peptides from amphibian skin potently inhibit human immunodeficiency virus
infection and transfer of virus from dendritic cells to T cells.” (D. Wade and multiple authors), Journal of Virology (2005) 79(18):
11598-11606.
·
“Inhibition
of Bacillus anthracis and potential surrogate bacilli growth from spore inocula
by nisin and other antimicrobial peptides.” (D. Wade and multiple authors), Journal of Food Protection (2006) 69:
2529-2533.
Finally,
he also published a chapter in a small collection of short stories written by
Americans who have lived and worked overseas:
“Superpower and the Snooze-a-Cat Gap - In So Far and Yet So Near”: Stories
of Americans Abroad, American Citizens Abroad, Geneva, Switzerland, 2005,
pp. 199-201. This book is available from
ACA and/or Amazon.com.
Lynn WESTNEY Associate Professor and Coordinator of Reference
Collection Development at the University of Illinois at Chicago attended the Canadian Society for the Study of Names (CSSN) Annual Meeting
at York University in Toronto where she presented her paper, “An Onomastic
Jukebox: From Doo Wop to Pop,” an examination of the name origins of rock and
roll groups.
She has been the
editor of 16 editions of an award winning annual reference book, Educational
Rankings Annual from 1991-2006 and, since 1999 she has also served as the
editor of a regular column on e-journals, E-Journals-Inside
and Out, in JAHC: Journal of the
Association for History and Computing.
Professor Westney has
presented papers in Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, Switzerland, Thailand, and
the United States on academic rankings research, onomastics, the place of new
technologies in the promotion and tenure process, and the scholarship of
engagement.
Masayoshi
YAMADA, Trustee and Professor of Linguistics at the
University of Shimane, Japan, has clearly had a very productive year:
·
An English-Japanese
Dictionary of Medspeak. (Co-author: Yoshifumi
Tanaka) Tokyo: Ishiyaku Publishers, Inc., 2006. pp. 491. This
book includes, for the first time in Japan, numerous medical trade names, TV
medical drama's characters, etc. for Japanese readers.
·
Twelve Lectures
on English Language and Culture.
(in Japanese) Hamada, Japan: English Language and Culture Studies
Society. 2005. pp. 248. This book includes a chapter on Brand Names
and U.S. Culture. It was created for students or teachers of English.
·
How to Study
English Language and Culture. (in Japanese) Hamada, Japan: English
Language and Culture Studies Society. 2006. pp. 303. This book includes a Chapter on Brand Names and U.S. Culture. It was
created for students or teachers of English.
·
A Dictionary of
English Proper Names. (Co-author: Yoshifumi Tanaka) Hamada, Japan: English Language
and Culture Studies Society. 2006. pp. 249. All
important proper names (trade names, TV characters, etc.) are discussed, with
brands' pictures or logo marks, and full discussions.
·
A Dictionary of
Ed McBain. (in Japanese) (Co-author: Yoshifumi Tanaka)
Hamada, Japan: English Language and Culture Studies Society. 2005. pp.
259. This
book includes numerous brand names and TV characters, etc. all of which
appeared in Ed McBain's novels.
The articles produced by Professor Yamada during the period are:
·
“A Sociolinguistic Study of Trade Names.” Journal of English Language and Culture Studies, No. 7. (in Japanese);
·
“Fascinating Trade Names in American Culture.” The English Teachers' Magazine. Tokyo:
Taishukan Pub., Ltd. Vol. 55, Nos. 1-12;
·
“American Culture in Trade Names.” Asahi Weekly. Tokyo: Asahi Newspaper Publishers. October 30, 2005.
Professor Yamada “hopes that this information contributes to
onomastic studies and wishes his colleagues well.”
Lou YOST reports that in September 2006 he was selected as the Chief of the
Geographic Names Program and appointed Executive Secretary for Domestic Names
by the U.S. Geological Survey. In October 2006 he was appointed Acting
Executive Secretary to the U.S. Board on
Geographic Names (BGN) by its Chair.
Mr. Yost presented a
talk on the BGN at the mid year conference of the National States Geographic
Information Council (NSGIC) in March. He
also participated in the 23rd session of the United
Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names in Vienna, Austria.
In June 2006 he represented
the United States at the annual meeting of the Geographic Names Board of Canada
in Ottawa, Canada.
He also attended the
annual meeting of the Council of Geographic Names Authorities
(COGNA) during this period.
Questions about the Ehrensperger Report
should be directed to:
Dr. Michael F. McGoff, Vice Provost
Office of the Provost
State University of New York at Binghamton
Appendices
Appendix 1
Placenames: Our National Heritage
The 25th anniversary of the
Names Society of Southern Africa (NSA), established in September 1981,
coincided with Heritage Day 2006. To celebrate
this auspicious occasion the President of the NSA, Dr Peter E. Raper, has
announced that the theme for the NSA anniversary is: ‘Place-names: Our National
Heritage.’ Place-names constitute an
essential part of the historical, linguistic and cultural heritage of the
nation. Derived from Khoisan, African, European and Asian languages, our
place-names reflect the national topography, history, fauna and flora, beliefs
and ways of life of the people now and in the past. They are critical elements
in the national infrastructure, and are used by people all over the world.
Place-names preserve the linguistic and
cultural heritage too of the language group from which they originate. In
keeping with the theme, Jonathan Ball Publishers are promoting their publication
New Dictionary of South African Place
Names. This book ranks among the most important South African publications
alongside those on birds, fauna and flora, and deserves a place in every
library and every home. It contains some 1,760 full entries plus hundreds of
cross-references, including names from all languages spoken in the
sub-continent now and in the past, from Khoisan names thousands of years old to
the latest name changes. In addition to the name and the feature designation,
the language of origin of the name is provided, the meaning of the name and the
reason for the naming, if known; the situation of the place in terms of
latitude and longitude, distance and direction from other places; and a host of
interesting historical, biographical and scientific information. This book has
been said to ‘take second place in our reference library only to the unabridged
Oxford English Dictionary’ (Caravan and
Outdoor Life), to be ‘as irresistible as a well-crafted thriller’ (John
Mitchell, Business Day), and ‘an
extremely detailed publication’ (Dr Peter Alcock, Pietermaritzburg).
The Names Society of Mozambique,
affiliated to the NSA, was established on the occasion of the United Nations
Training Course on Geographical Names for Southern Africa, held in Maputo from
18 to 25 September this year. Organized by the United Nations Group of Experts
on Geographical Names (UNGEGN) and the Department of State Administration of
Mozambique, the course was attended by some thirty-six participants from member
countries of the Africa South Division of the UNGEGN, Angola, Brazil, Tanzania,
Zambia and Zimbabwe. Lecturers were Dr. Peter E. RAPER
(South Africa), former chairman of UNGEGN; Ms. Helen KERFOOT
(Canada), current chairperson of UNGEGN; Prof. Ferjan Ormeling
(Netherlands), Convenor of the UNGEGN Working Group on Training Courses; Dr. Lucie
A. MÖLLER (South Africa), UNGEGN Expert, former Secretary, Treasurer
and Editorial Secretary of the NSA; Dr. Pier-Giorgio Zaccheddu (Germany),
UNGEGN Expert and computer specialist; and Mr. Luis Abrahamo (Mozambique),
chairman of the Africa South Division of the UNGEGN and member of the Executive
Committee of the NSA.
The most important function of the United
Nations is to avoid conflict between nations. The UN has identified the
question of geographical names as one of the six issues most likely to cause
conflict and found it necessary to establish a standing expert group to advise
it on this thorny issue. This training course gave guidance on the
establishment of national geographical names authorities and the
standardization of geographical names in accordance with UN resolutions in this
regard.
National geographical names authorities in
Southern Africa and elsewhere in the world rely on professional societies such
as the NSA, the members of which are often academics, to provide the research
necessary for background information on names to enable it to take the correct
standardization decisions. The Names Society of Mozambique will fulfill the
same function for the names authority of Mozambique, and establish contact with
other Africa South member countries. A copy of the New Dictionary of South African Place Names was presented to the
Chairman of the Names Society of Mozambique.
The 14th Congress of the Names
Society of Southern Africa (NSA) will be held in the Ithala Game Reserve,
KwaZulu-Natal, from 26 to 29 November 2006. In addition to prominent South
African onomasticians, participants will include leading international name
experts such as Professor Willy van Langendonck of Belgium and Baron Wolf-Armin
von Reitzenstein of Germany, Prof. Botolv Helleland from Norway and Antti Leino
from Finland, and names scholars from Benin, Botswana, Lesotho, Nigeria,
Namibia and Mozambique.
Persons wishing to join the NSA are
invited to contact Professor Adrian KOOPMAN, email koopman@ukzn.ac.za or Professor John Hilton, email hilton@ukzn.ac.za.
Peter E. Raper
Appendix 2
Names Society of
Southern Africa (NSA)
Newsletter 2005
Message from the President
The year 2006 marks the 25th anniversary of
the NSA. It was in 1981 that the Society was established. Since then numerous
achievements have been notched up, including the establishment of our Journal, Nomina Africana; the holding of thirteen
congresses in South Africa, Namibia and Mozambique; publications by members of
the NSA; national and international activities of our members, and co-operation
with the International Council of Onomastics (ICOS) and the United Nations
Group of Experts on Geographical Names (UNGEGN).
The 14th International Congress of the NSA
is to be held in 2006. This presents the ideal opportunity to celebrate the
25th birthday of the Society, to publicize the Society and its achievements, to
enroll new members, to advertise our publications (Nomina Africana, A World of
Names, edited by Lucie A. Möller and J.U. Jacobs, the New Dictionary of South African Place Names by Peter E. Raper, Zulu Place Names by Adrian Koopman, Xhosa Place Names by S.J. Neethling, the
Pilot Gazetteer of Xhosa Placenames by
C.J. Skead, etc.), to involve a wide range of national and international
participants, to enlarge the membership of the Society, and so forth. I wish
the Organizing Committee every success in this regard.
The ICOS Congress in Pisa presents the
opportunity of announcing the 25th anniversary of the NSA, of inviting ICOS
members to participate in its 14th Congress, and of advertising and promoting
the publications of NSA members, and our Journal. I urge all NSA members
attending the ICOS Congress in Pisa to strengthen the bonds between the NSA and
ICOS.
As regards the United Nations,
non-participation by many African countries in United Nations activities and
non-implementation by these countries of UN resolutions on geographical names,
and the resultant confusion, wastage of time and money, conflict, and even loss
of life, have long been a source of concern for the United Nations and the UN
Economic Commission for Africa. At the invitation of the United Nations, a
Special Presentation was made by me in New York in April 2004 on “Challenges in
the Standardization of Geographical Names in Developing Countries”. In the
ensuing discussion it was emphasized that, as far as Africa is concerned, the
solutions to the problems could only be found and implemented within existing
structures in Africa. These include the Names Society of Southern Africa (NSA)
and the Africa South Division (ASD) of the UNGEGN.
Closer co-operation is envisaged between
the NSA and the ASD, which comprises Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique,
Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Mr. Luis Abrahamo,
member of the Executive Committee of the NSA and chairman of the Africa South
Division, has a key role to play in this regard. A UN training course on
geographical names was held in tandem with the NSA congress in Mozambique in
September 2004. In his opening address before the NSA Congress, His Excellency
the Mozambican Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr. Helder
Muteia, noted the role the NSA can play in supporting with research the
standardization activities of the geographical names authority of Mozambique. A
branch of the NSA has been established in Mozambique also with this in mind. It
is anticipated that the establishment of similar branches of the NSA in other
countries of the Africa South Division will promote the work of the UNGEGN and
the standardization of geographical names in accordance with UN resolutions,
leading to the social and economic benefits to be derived therefrom. It is
incumbent on the Society, as the “Names Society of Southern Africa”, to expand its focus to include the other
countries of the sub-continent, not least because the languages from which our
names are derived transcend the boundaries of our country, revealing
fascinating and useful onomastic information when researched. The Society has a
critical role to play in names matters in southern Africa.
Seven
United Nations courses on geographical names have been held in South Africa to
date, arranged by the UNGEGN in co-operation with the NSA and the HSRC. The Onomastic
Studies Unit of the University of KwaZulu-Natal (OSU) has taken the lead in
onomastic activities in the sub-continent, and is now the headquarters of the
NSA. In a discussion in Mozambique with Prof. Adrian Koopman, Director of OSU
and Vice-Chair of the NSA, the viability was discussed of arranging future UN
training courses at the OSU, with funding from the United Nations, and
participation by UNGEGN experts from around the world as well as local experts.
In this way the NSA can expand its liaison with the United Nations, entrench
its international influence, and play an increasingly meaningful role in the
standardization of geographical names in Africa, while recording and preserving
the toponymic, cultural and linguistic heritage of the countries concerned.
I take
this opportunity of expressing my warm and sincere thanks to Prof. J.U. Jacobs,
Prof. Adrian Koopman, Dr. Lucie A. Möller, Dr. B.A. Meiring, members of the
Executive Committee, Honorary and other members of the NSA, and everyone else
who has contributed to ensuring that the NSA has not only survived its first
quarter-century, but has received national and international recognition and
respect. I look forward to seeing the Society expanding its membership,
increasing its onomastic activities and international co-operation, and
entrenching its position as one of the world leaders in the field of names.
It has
been an honour and a pleasure to serve as President of the NSA since 1989.
Having now attained the age of 65, it is time to retire, and I shall therefore
not be eligible for re-election as President at the end of my term of office in
2006. I wish the Society, its Executive Committee and all its members every
success in the future.
Peter E. Raper
Appendix 3
United Nations Training Course in Mozambique
The ninth United
Nations training course on geographical names for Southern Africa was held in
Maputo, Mozambique, from 18 to 25 September 2006. It was arranged by Mr. Luis
Abrahamo, Chairman of the Africa South Division of the United Nations Group of
Experts on Geographical Names (UNGEGN), in conjunction
with the UNGEGN Secretariat. The course was attended by thirty-six participants
from Angola, Botswana, Brazil, Mozambique, South Africa, South Africa, Tanzania
and Zimbabwe. Lecturers were Ms. Helen KERFOOT (Canada),
Chairperson of the UNGEGN; Prof. Ferjan Ormeling (Netherlands), Convenor of the
UNGEGN Working Group on Toponymic Training Courses; Dr. Peter
E. RAPER (South Africa), former Chairman of the UNGEGN; Dr.
Lucie A. MÖLLER (South Africa), UNGEGN
Expert; Mr. Pier-Giorgio Zaccheddu (Germany), UNGEGN Expert and automation
specialist. This was the second UNGEGN training course to be held in Maputo,
the first being in September 2004.
The course contents were as
follows:
Contents
Module 1: Introduction to standardization and
geographical names, 1
a) Introduction to geographical names, 1
b) Rationale for names committees, 6
c) The nature of geographical names, 12
d) Introduction to toponymic terminology, 16
Module 2: Research into
geographical names, 20
a) Methods of toponymic research: collection and
sources, 20
b) Field collection: Planning and practical problems,
32
c) Maps and other documents, 41
d) Digital Sources, 53
Module 3: Office treatment and
dissemination of geographical names, 61
a) Recording and storage: manual systems, 61
b) Digital database management, 66
c) Names lists, gazetteers and other publications, 74
Module 4: National geographical
names authorities, 79
a) Establishment of a national names authority, 79
b) Structure and staffing, 83
c) The functions of names authorities, 88
d) Practical standardization, 93
Module 5: Multilingual situations
a) Implementation
b) Mock
committee meeting
c) Evaluation
The training course was directed towards assisting the
National Geographical Names Authority of Mozambique currently being
established, and towards implementing UN resolutions recommending the
establishment of national names authorities in Southern Africa and the
standardization of geographical names.
The next UN training course on geographical names is planned
to be held in Angola in 2008.
Appendix 4
Names Society of Mozambique Established
On the occasion of
the United Nations training course to be held in Maputo from 18 to 25 September
2006, the Names Society of Mozambique was established as a branch of the Names
Society of Southern Africa (NSA). The
founding members were Dr. Peter E. RAPER, then President
of the NSA; Mr. Luis Abrahamo, Chairman
of the Africa South Division of the UNGEGN; Dr. Lucie A. MÖLLER, UN Expert on Geographical Names and former
Secretary-Treasurer of the NSA; Ms. Helen KERFOOT of
Canada, Chairperson of the UNGEGN and member of the NSA, and Prof. Ferjan
Ormeling of the Netherlands, Convenor of the UNGEGN Working Group on Toponymic
Training Courses.
The Names Society
of Mozambique will support with research and academic expertise the National
Geographical Names Authority of Mozambique. A Survey of Mozambique Geographical
Names is envisaged, to facilitate the standardization of geographical names,
and also to record and preserve the place names as an important part of the
linguistic and cultural heritage of the people of Mozambique.
Appendix 5
United Nations Documents on Geographical Names
(Second edition)
The first edition
of United Nations Documents on
Geographical Names, prepared by Dr. Peter E. RAPER in
pursuance of Resolution 22 of the Fourth Conference on the Standardization of
Geographical Names, was sold in 62 countries, but has long been out of print.
In order to
revitalize geographical names activities in Africa as recommended by the UN
Regional Cartographic Conference for Africa in Burkina Faso, and to expedite
the standardization of geographical names on the continent, the second edition
of United Nations Documents on
Geographical Names has been prepared in pursuance of Resolution 22 of the
Fourth Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names. It contains the
following documents prepared by the UNGEGN Secretariat, Convenors of the UNGEGN
Working Groups, and other UNGEGN Experts:
·
Statutes of the United Nations Group of Experts on
Geographical Name (UNGEGN)
·
Rules of Procedure of UNGEGN
·
Rules of Procedure of the United Nations Conferences
on the Standardization of Geographical Names.
·
Guidelines for the preparation of working papers and
other documents for the conferences.
·
Data Exchange Formats and Standards (Roger Marsden,
former Convenor of the Working Group)
·
Romanization Systems (edited by Peeter Päll, Convenor,
Working Group on Romanization Systems)
·
Establishing a Geographical Names Authority (Donald
Orth, USA)
·
Toponymy Courses (edited by Ferjan Ormeling, Convenor,
Working Group on Toponymic Training Courses).
·
United Nations Resolutions
on Geographical Names Arranged Alphabetically by Subject (prepared by Peter
E. Raper, former Chairman of the UNGEGN).
·
Glossary of Terms
for the Standardization of Geographical Names (edited by Naftali Kadmon,
Convenor, Working Group on Toponymic Terminology).
These documents provide the
necessary background to enable meaningful participation of delegates and
experts to the UNGEGN meetings and UN conferences on the standardization of
geographical names, and will help to ensure effective implementation of UN
resolutions on geographical names.
Appendix 6
|
|
|
|
|
18717 |
|
Feature Name: |
Payne, Mount |
|
Class: |
|
|
Latitude: |
724900S |
|
Longitude: |
1675200E |
|
Description: |
Mount Payne is a mostly ice covered mountain 1.75 miles east of
Mount Riddolls in Stever Ridge of the Victory Mountains, Victoria Land. The
mountain, which rises to over 3,200 meters, is 3.5 miles east of |
|
Elevation ( ft/m ): |
10499 / 3200 |
|
Decision Year: |
25-APR-06 |
|
Date Entered: |
09-MAY-06 |
Index
Aboriginal
toponymy. See LAPIERRE
American
Dialect Society (ADS). See Popik
American
Given Names. See EVANS
American
Name Society. (ANS) See EVANS, DEVINNE, GASQUE, MCGOFF
American Society Of Geolinguistics. See Levitt
ANS
Website. See McGoff
Asia-Pacific
Institute for Toponymy. See HODGES
Austen,
Jane, names in the novels of, See BARRY
Australian Placenames. See
HODGES
Azeri Names. See LAWSON
Baby Names. See EVANS
Beckett, Samuel – the plays of. See
LEVITT.
BGN. See U.S. Board on Geographic Names
Biblical
Onomastics. See DEMSKY
Bibliography. See
Powell
Blackfoot
Indians. See LOMBARD
Book
Reviews, in Names. See
DEVINNE
Burrill,
Meredith (Pete). See DETRO
Canadian
Society for the Study of Names (CSSN). See KERFOOT,
RAYBURN
Chinese-American
Names. See Louie
COGNA.
See Council of Geographic
Names Authorities
Council of
Geographic Names Authorities (COGNA). See Payne, RAYBURN, YOST
Dickinson,
Emily: placenames in. See HALLEN
Dictionary
of American Family Names. (DAFN) See
TUCKER
Ehrensperger Report. See
MCGOFF
English,
British and American. See
ALGEO
Etymology, Comments on. See
COHEN, POPIK
Family
Names. See Personal Names
Finnish
translation. See SORVO
First
Names. See Personal
Names
Forensic
linguistics. See BUTTERS
Geographic Names Bibliography. See
POWELL
Geographic Names
Information System (GNIS). See Payne,
YOST
Geographical
Names, Standardization of. See KERFOOT,
PAYNE
Geolinguistics. See
American Society of
Geolinguistics
Given
Names. See Personal
Names
Harry Potter, names in. See
NILSEN
Illinois
placenames. See CALLARY
International Council of Onomastic Sciences
(ICOS). See KERFOOT
Ireland, onomastics in. See LANKFORD
Israel. See
Demsky
Italian
onomastics. See CAFFARELLI
Jewish
Names. See Demsky, Lawson
Literary
Names. See BARRY,
HALLEN, SMITH.
Longevity. See
ABEL
Louisiana
placenames. See DETRO.
Mäori
placenames. See MATTHEWS.
Maine, placenames
of Mount Desert Island. See RAUP
Mozambique, Names
Society of. See APPENDIX 1, 2, 4.
Name function,
semiotic theory of. See SMITH
Names Institute. See
Finke, Levitt.
Names: A Journal of Onomastics. See
VASILIEV
Names Society of Southern
Africa (NSA). See MOLLER.
New
Mexico. See JulYan
Newfoundland. See
Kirwin
New
South Wales. See HODGES
New
Zealand personal names. See MATTHEWS
Nomina.
See
Nomina Africana - Journal of the Names Society of Southern Africa (NSA). See KOOPMAN.
Onoma, the journal of
the International Council of
Onomastic Sciences. See SMITH.
Onomastic
terminology. See CAFFARELLI
Onomastica
Canadiana, the journal of the Canadian Society for the Study of Names. See EMBLETON, KERFOOT
Outer
Banks, placenames of. See PAYNE
Pan
American Institute of Geography and History (PAIGH). See
Payne
Pennsylvania
German placenames. See BEAM
Personal Names. See
BARRY, EVANS,
HANKS, KOENIG, Tucker
PLANSUS (Placename Survey of the United States). See Toponymy Interest Group.
Psychiatry
and the law. See SLOVENKO
Rivista Italiana di Onomastica-RIOn. See CAFFARELLI
Romanian dialects. See
EMBLETON
Russian personal names. See
LAWSON, SUPERANSKAYA
Scottish
placenames. See NICOLAISEN, SCOTT
Scandinavian
Onomastics. See COATES,
Helleland, Fellows-Jensen
Semiotics. See
SMITH
Shakespeare
and names. See SMITH
Skead,
C.J., death of. See MOLLER
Social
Security Administration and names. See
BARRY, EVANS
Sociolinguistics. See
BUTTERS
South
Africa. See KOOPMAN, MOLLER, NEETHLING
South
Dakota placenames. See GASQUE
Standardization
of Geographical Names. See KERFOOT, PAYNE
Starship
Enterprise. See BEHRENS
Surnames. See
Personal Names
Toponymy, Asia-Pacific Institute
for. See HODGES
Toponymy
Interest Group. See
MCGOFF
Trademarks. See BUTTERS
Trade
names in the U.S. See YAMADA
Turkish
names. See AKSU
United
Nations. See BARROS.
United
Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names. See HODGES,
Kerfoot, KOSTANSKI,
LAPIERRE
U.S. Board
on Geographic Names (BGN). See PAYNE, RANDALL, RUNYON, YOST
Verbatim
– The Language Quarterly. See MCKEAN
Who Was Who in North American Name Study. See MCGOFF; RAYBURN
Xhosa, naming
practices in. See NEETHLING