The crucial and contested concept of the endonym/exonym divide
PDF (English)
ePub
mobi

Keywords

exonyms
toponymy
terminology
UNGEGN
cultural geography

Abstract

Paul Woodman has called it the “great toponymic divide”, but the endonym/exonym distinction is not a concept confined solely to toponymy, it can be transferred to all name categories, where the name used by insiders may differ from the name used by outsiders, e.g., to ethnonyms, anthro ponyms, names of institutions, where we frequently meet, for instance nicknames and derogative designa- tions used by outsiders. But there is no doubt that this divide has its focus on toponymy, since it corresponds there to two basic human attitudes: (1) to the distinction between ‛mine’ and ‛yours’, ‛ours’ and ‛theirs’, and (2) to territoriality, the desire to own a place, which appears at all levels of the construction of human community  — from the level of the family up to that of nations. Thus, it has always a political, social, and juridical meaning and is frequently a reason for dispute and conflict. However, even after long and intensive discussions, e.g., in the UNGEGN Working Group of Exonyms, to date we can still see rather divergent approaches to this divide. There is the linguistic approach regarding the endonym and the exonym rather as poles of a continuum, with various intermediary stages. Alternatively, there is the cultural-geographical approach that accepts no other criteria than the spatial relation between the name-using community and the geographical feature denoted by the name. The article elaborates on these items, mainly on the basis of the discussions and publications of the UNGEGN Working Group on Exonyms since 2002.

https://doi.org/10.17651/ONOMAST.65.1.1
PDF (English)
ePub
mobi

References

Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Kartographische Ortsnamenkunde (AKO). (2012). Empfehlungen zur Schreibung geographischer Namen in österreichischen Bildungsmedien. Wien: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften.

Back, O. (2002). Übersetzbare Eigennamen. Eine synchrone Untersuchung von interlingualer Allonymie und Exonymie. Wien: Praesens.

Bell, H. (2012). Nubian perceptions of exonyms and endonyms. In P. Woodman (Ed.), The Great Toponymic Divide. Reflections on the Definition and Usage of Endonyms and Exonyms (pp. 97‒104). Warszawa: Główny Urząd Geodezji i Kartografii.

Bell, H. (2014). Toponymic teleology: Endonyms in an endangered language. In P. Jordan, & P. Woodman (Eds.), The Quest for Definitions. Proceedings of the 14 th UNGEGN Working Group on Exonyms Meeting, Corfu, 23‒25 May 2013 (= Name & Place, 3) (pp. 175‒184). Hamburg: Verlag Dr. Kovač.

Bell, H. (2015). A multilingual environment: Its relevance for defining ‛endonym’ and ‛exonym’. In P. Jordan, & P. Woodman (Eds.), The Confirmation of the Definitions. Proceedings of the 16 th UNGEGN Working Group on Exonyms Meeting, Hermagor, 5‒7 June 2014 (= Name & Place, 4) (pp. 117‒122). Hamburg: Verlag Dr. Kovač.

Bell, H. (2018). The dynamics of exonyms and an accusation of ‛cultural suicide’. In P. Jordan, I. Švehlová, & P. Woodman (Eds.), A Survey of Exonym Use. Proceedings of the 19 th UNGEGN Working Group on Exonyms Meeting, Prague [Praha], 6‒8 April 2017 (= Name & Place, 7) (pp. 185‒191). Hamburg, Verlag Dr. Kovač.

Bell, H. (2019). Exonyms perceived by a scholar who spoke an unofficial language. In A. Dollimore, & K. Watanabe (Eds.), The Classification of Exonyms. Proceedings of the 21 st UNGEGN Working Group on Exonyms Meeting, Riga [Rīga], 24‒26 September 2018 (= Name & Place, 8) (pp. 97‒110). Hamburg, Verlag Dr. Kovač.

Bell, H., & Sabbār, H. (2011). Nubian geographical names and language revitalization on both sides of an international border. In P. Jordan, H. Bergmann, C. Burgess, & C. Cheetham (Eds.), Trends in Exonym Use. Proceedings of the 10 th UNGEGN Working Group on Exonyms Meeting, Tainach, 28‒30 April 2010 (= Name & Place, 1) (pp. 295‒311). Hamburg: Verlag Dr. Kovač.

Bušs, O. (2012). On some possibilities for a more exact definition of exonyms. In P. Woodman (Ed.), The Great Toponymic Divide. Reflections on the Definition and Usage of Endonyms and Exonyms (pp. 67‒73). Warszawa: Główny Urząd Geodezji i Kartografii.

Bušs, O. (2014). Two kinds of endonyms/exonyms — two kinds of interpretation problems. In P. Jordan, & P. Woodman (Eds.), The Quest for Definitions. Proceedings of the 14 th UNGEGN Working Group on Exonyms Meeting, Corfu, 23‒25 May 2013 (= Name & Place, 3) (pp. 49‒54). Hamburg: Verlag Dr. Kovač.

Bušs, O. (2015). Don’t we have at least some exonyms for foreign geographical features? In P. Jordan, P. Woodman (Eds.), Confirmation of the Definitions. Proceedings of the 16 th UNGEGN Working Group on Exonyms Meeting, Hermagor, 5‒7 June 2014 (= Name & Place, 4) (pp. 25‒30). Hamburg: Verlag Dr. Kovač.

Bušs, O. (2016). Should we use new terms? Are exonymoid and endonymoid appropriate terms? In P. Jordan, & P. Woodman (Eds.), Criteria for the Use of Exonyms. Proceedings of the 17 th UNGEGN Working Group on Exonyms Meeting, Zagreb, 14‒16 May 2015 (= Name & Place, 6) (pp. 93‒98). Hamburg: Verlag Dr. Kovač.

Choo, S. (2015). The endonym/exonym divide in the context of Korean geographical names. In P. Jordan, & P. Woodman (Eds.), Confirmation of the Definitions. Proceedings of the 16 th UNGEGN Working Group on Exonyms Meeting, Hermagor, 5‒7 June 2014 (= Name & Place, 4) (pp. 139‒141). Hamburg: Verlag Dr. Kovač.

International Council of Onomastic Sciences (ICOS) (2021). https://icosweb.net/publications/ono- mastic-terminology/

Jordan, P. (2000a). The importance of using exonyms — pleading for a moderate and politically sensitive use. In J. Sievers (Ed.), Second International Symposium on Geographical Names “GeoNames 2000“ Frankfurt am Main, 28‒30 March 2000 (= Mitteilungen des Bundesamtes für Kartographie und Geodäsie, 19) (pp. 87‒92). Frankfurt am Main: Bundesamt für Kartographie und Geodäsie.

Jordan, P. (2000b). Vom Wert der Exonyme. Plädoyer für einen maßvollen und politisch sensiblen Gebrauch. In M. Lechthaler, & G. Gartner (Eds.), Per aspera ad astra. Festschrift für Fritz Kelnhofer zum 60. Geburtstag (pp. 52‒71). Wien: Technische Universität Wien. Institut für Kartographie und Reproduktionstechnik.

Jordan, P. (2009). Exonyms as indicators of trans-national spatial relations. Review of Historical Geography and Toponomastics, 4(7–8), 7‒16.

Jordan, P. (2013). Trends in exonym use of European school atlases. In P. Jordan, & F. Ormeling (Eds.), Toponyms in Cartography. Proceedings of the Toponymic Sessions at the 25 th International Cartographic Conference, Paris, 3‒8 July 2011 (= Name & Place, 2) (pp. 31‒46). Hamburg: Verlag Dr. Kovač.

Jordan, P. (2019a). Role of place names in relating people and space. In S.D. Brunn, & R. Kehrein (Eds.), Handbook of the Changing World Language Map (pp. 2037‒2051). Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Jordan, P. (2019b). The endonym/exonym divide from a cultural-geographical perspective. Language and Society, 10, 5‒21.

Jordan, P. (2020). Croatian external relations as reflected by the use of exonyms. Studia lexico- graphica, 14, 63‒83.

Jordan, P., Bergmann, H., Burgess, C., & Cheetham, C. (Eds.). (2011). Trends in Exonym Use. Proceedings of the 10 th UNGEGN Working Group on Exonyms Meeting, Tainach, 28‒30 April 2010 (= Name & Place, 1). Hamburg: Verlag Dr. Kovač.

Jordan, P., & Woodman, P. (Eds.). (2014). The Quest for Definitions. Proceedings of the 14 th UNGEGN Working Group on Exonyms Meeting, Corfu, 23‒25 May 2013 (= Name & Place, 3). Hamburg: Verlag Dr. Kovač.

Jordan, P., & Woodman, P. (Eds.). (2015). The Confirmation of the Definitions. Proceedings of the 16 th UNGEGN Working Group on Exonyms Meeting, Hermagor, 5‒7 June 2014 (= Name & Place, 4). Hamburg: Verlag Dr. Kovač.

Kadmon, N. (Ed.). (2007). Glossary of Terms for the Standardization of Geographical Names: Addendum. UN Document ST/ESA/STAT/SER.M/85/Add.1, 07-60262, 16 November 2007. New York: United Nations. https://unstats.un.org/unsd/ungegn/pubs/documents/Glossary_of_ terms_rev.pdf

Manu, M.M. (2021). Ethnonyms used for and by Romanian migrant groups in Transylvania and their reflections in toponymy. In A. Dollimore, & P. Jordan (Eds.), Place Names and Migration. Proceedings of the Symposium in Vienna, 6‒8 November 2019 (= Name & Place, 9) (pp. 217‒227). Hamburg: Verlag Dr. Kovač.

Matthews, P. (2014). Endonyms and exonyms: Proposed definitions. In P. Jordan, & P. Woodman (Eds.), The Quest for Definitions. Proceedings of the 14 th UNGEGN Working Group on Exonyms Meeting, Corfu, 23‒25 May 2013 (= Name & Place, 3) (pp. 83‒143). Hamburg: Verlag Dr. Kovač.

Päll, P. (2000). Do conventional romanization systems create exonyms? In J. Sievers (Ed.), Second International Symposium on Geographical Names “GeoNames 2000” Frankfurt am Main, 28‒30 March 2000 (= Mitteilungen des Bundesamtes für Kartographie und Geodäsie, 19) (pp. 137‒140). Frankfurt am Main: Bundesamt für Kartographie und Geodäsie.

Päll, P. (2011). Conversion of scripts, and exonyms. In P. Jordan, H. Bergmann, C. Burgess, & C. Cheetham (Eds.), Trends in Exonym Use. Proceedings of the 10 th UNGEGN Working Group on Exonyms Meeting, Tainach, 28‒30 April 2010 (= Name & Place, 1) (pp. 89‒93). Hamburg: Verlag Dr. Kovač.

Päll, P. (2014). Exonyms: The special case of countries with non-Roman scripts. In P. Jordan, & P. Woodman (Eds.), The Quest for Definitions. Proceedings of the 14 th UNGEGN Working Group on Exonyms Meeting, Corfu, 23‒25 May 2013 (= Name & Place, 3) (pp. 147‒152). Hamburg: Verlag Dr. Kovač.

Päll, P. (2015). Spelling differences and exonyms. In P. Jordan, & P. Woodman (Eds.), Confirmation of the Definitions. Proceedings of the 16 th UNGEGN Working Group on Exonyms Meeting, Hermagor, 5‒7 June 2014 (= Name & Place, 4) (pp. 111‒116). Hamburg: Verlag Dr. Kovač.

Päll, P., & Matthews, P.W. (2007). Some linguistic aspects of defining exonyms. In P. Jordan, M. Orožen Adamič, & P. Woodman (Eds.), Exonyms and the International Standardisation of Geographical Names. Approaches towards the Resolution of an Apparent Contradiction (= Wiener Osteuropa Studien, 24) (pp. 69‒79). Wien-Berlin: LIT Verlag.

Raukko, J. (2007). A linguistic classification of exonyms. In P. Jordan, M. Orožen Adamič, & P. Woodman (Eds.), Exonyms and the International Standardisation of Geographical Names. Approaches towards the Resolution of an Apparent Contradiction (= Wiener Osteuropa Studien, 24) (pp. 19‒57). Wien-Berlin: LIT Verlag.

Sabbār, H. (2011). The toponymy of Ishkéed and the revitalization of an endangered Nubian lan- guage. In P. Jordan, H. Bergmann, C. Burgess, & C. Cheetham (Eds.), Trends in Exonym Use. Proceedings of the 10 th UNGEGN Working Group on Exonyms Meeting, Tainach, 28‒30 April 2010 (= Name & Place, 1) (pp. 313‒317). Hamburg: Verlag Dr. Kovač.

Sabbār, H. (2012). Numbers as geographical names in Nubia: Endonyms or exonyms? In P. Woodman (Ed.), The Great Toponymic Divide. Reflections on the definition and usage of endonyms and exonyms (pp. 105‒110). Warszawa: Główny Urząd Geodezji i Kartografii.

Sabbār, H. (2014). Language: An essential element of the endonym. In P. Jordan, & P. Woodman (Eds.), The Quest for Definitions. Proceedings of the 14 th UNGEGN Working Group on Exonyms Meeting, Corfu, 23‒25 May 2013 (= Name & Place, 3) (pp. 185‒190). Hamburg: Verlag Dr. Kovač.

Sabbār, H. (2015). Disenfrenchising indigenous languages. The need to define ‛endonym’ and ‛exo - nym’ with accuracy and fairness. In P. Jordan, &P. Woodman (Eds.), The Confirmation of the Definitions. Proceedings of the 16 th UNGEGN Working Group on Exonyms Meeting, Hermagor, 5‒7 June 2014 (= Name & Place, 4) (pp. 123‒126). Hamburg: Verlag Dr. Kovač.

Tanabe, H. (2015). Difficulties of the exonym/endonym dichotomy from the viewpoint of East Asian place names. In P. Jordan, & P. Woodman (Eds.), Confirmation of the Definitions. Proceedings of the 16 th UNGEGN Working Group on Exonyms Meeting, Hermagor, 5‒7 June 2014 (= Name & Place, 4) (pp. 129‒138). Hamburg: Verlag Dr. Kovač.

Tuan, Yi-Fu (1974). Topophilia. A Study of Environmental Perception, Attitudes, and Values. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

Tuan, Yi-Fu (1977). Space and place: The Perspective of Experience. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

Tuan, Yi-Fu (1991). Language and the making of place: A narrative-descriptive approach. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 81, 684‒696.

United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names (UNGEGN) (2021a). https://unstats.un.org/ unsd/ungegn/sessions/2nd_session_2021/

United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names (UNGEGN) (2021b). https://unstats. un.org/unsd/ungegn/resolutions/

Watt, B. (2009). Cultural aspects of place names with special regard to names in indigenous, minor- ity and regional languages. In P. Jordan, H. Bergmann, C. Cheetham, & I. Hausner (Eds.), Geographical Names as a Part of the Cultural Heritage (= Wiener Schriften zur Geographie und Kartographie, 18) (pp. 21‒24). Wien: Institut für Geographie und Regionalforschung der Universität Wien. Kartographie und Geoinformation.

Weichhart, P., Weiske, Ch., & Werlen, B. (2006). Place Identity und Images: Das Beispiel Eisenhüttenstadt (= Abhandlungen zur Geographie und Regionalforschung, 9). Wien: Universität Wien. Institut für Geographie und Regionalforschung.

Woodman, P. (Ed.). (2012). The Great Toponymic Divide: Reflections on the definitions and usage of endonyms and exonyms. Warszawa: Główny Urząd Geodezji i Kartografii.