Spelling of Place Names

Abstract

THE United States Geographic Board has published a “First Report on Foreign Geographical Names” (Washington Government Printing Office, 1932. 10 cents). The list of names is prefaced by a long discussion of the problems involved, which is followed by certain general rules that the Board has adopted. The conventional English usage is adopted for the names of countries, dominions, colonies, etc., and for geographical features common to several States in which the official languages are different. For local geographical names in States where a Latin alphabet is used, the names are spelled in accordance with local usage but conventional English forms, where such exist, are accepted as alternatives. Names in non-Latin alphabets are to be transliterated according to either official transliteration, where such exists, or a system adopted by the Board and printed in this report. The practice of translating names is discouraged. The policy adopted by the Board differs little from that used by the Permanent Committee on Geographical Names for British Official Use. The differences lie in the spelling of names in possessions of European powers and in the transliteration of ‘j’ and ‘zh’ in certain languages, but it is laid down that in the absence of any specific decision of the United States Board, the decision of the British Committee is to be followed in certain cases. The actual list of names in the Report gives pronunciation in many cases but omits it in several names where its addition would certainly be useful.