Toponymic Guidelines
Antarctic Place-names Commission
CONTENTS
- Introduction
- General principles
- Types of geographical features
- Specific elements of geographical names
- Inappropriate names
- Criteria of names approval
- Language and spelling
- Names approval procedures
1.
INTRODUCTION
In Antarctica geographical names are important elements
of identification, orientation, localization and navigation, providing
an essential reference system for logistic operations, including
search and rescue measures, and for international scientific research.
They facilitate information exchange in the field, in scientific
publications and in administrative measures under the Antarctic
Treaty System. Geographical names also reflect the history of Antarctic
exploration. The principles and procedures for naming geographical
features in Antarctica formulated hereafter:
(1) Are applied to land and subglacial features, ice shelves, and
inshore features of the continental shelf south of 60º S;
(2) Should be followed on maps, in publications, in databases etc;
(3) Relate to Bulgarian place names and their Romanization;
(4) Are based on established practices in Antarctic place naming,
and incorporate elaborations of the SCAR Work Programme on Antarctic
place names.
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2. GENERAL
PRINCIPLES
A geographical name primarily serves to distinguish
the feature from all others; it should be unique in Antarctica.
The principal purpose of a name is to supply effective and appropriate
means of identifying the feature beyond doubt; commemoration of
persons or events is a secondary consideration. New names are assigned
to Antarctic features if it is of necessity in the course of research
or field work, or for navigation, or if they have become well established.
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3.
TYPES OF GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES
A geographical name normally consists of a generic
element defining the topographic feature class (bay, mount, glacier
etc.) and a specific element distinguishing it from geographical
names of the same class. The generic element might be omitted with
the definite article used instead.
A grouping into the following three feature categories
is useful when determining the appropriateness of new names for
Antarctic features.
First order features:
(1) Regions or lands
(2) Coasts
(3) Extensive mountain ranges, plateaus
(4) Ice shelves, large glaciers
(5) Extensive sub-glacial mountains or valleys
Second order features:
(1) Peninsulas
(2) Mountain ranges
(3) Great or prominent mountains
(4) Glaciers
(5) Prominent capes
(6) Islands, ice rises
(7) Gulfs, large bays, harbours
(8) Straits or passages
(9) Sub-glacial ridges or valleys
Third order features:
(1) Minor mountains or hills, nunataks, cliffs, rocks
(2) Minor glaciers
(3) Lakes, streams
(4) Minor shore features, beaches, points, minor capes
(5) Minor bays, coves
(6) Parts of such features
Features having special significance or prominence
in geographic discovery, scientific investigation, or the history
of Antarctica may be placed in the next higher category than their
size would warrant.
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4. SPECIFIC ELEMENTS
OF GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES
Non-personal names applied to Antarctic features include:
(1) Names of national or international geography
or culture;
(2) Names that commemorate events related to Antarctic exploration;
(3) Names that commemorate organizations involved directly or indirectly
in carrying out, organization or funding of Antarctic research;
(4) Names of ships, aircraft or vehicles operating in Antarctica;
(5) Names related to Antarctic science and scientific work;
(6) Names descriptive of shape, colour etc. provided that they are
not too general a description.
Because Antarctica has been unveiled through the efforts
of explorers, scientists, and others, it has become a common practice
to apply the names of such persons to Antarctic features. Personal
names applied to Antarctic features include:
(1) Names of leaders or organizers of expeditions
to Antarctica, leaders of field parties and ship captains, members
of expeditions, who have made outstanding contribution to the success
of an expedition;
(2) Names of persons who have made outstanding discoveries in Antarctica
or, through their work with Antarctic expeditions, have made outstanding
contributions to scientific knowledge or to the techniques of Antarctic
exploration;
(3) Names of persons who have made important contributions in the
planning, organization, outfitting, or operation of expeditions
to Antarctica;
(4) Names of persons who have provided major financial or material
support to an expedition, or otherwise have contributed to Antarctic
exploration.
The type of personal contribution should generally
be proportional to the magnitude category of the named feature.
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5. INAPPROPRIATE
NAMES
Names in the following categories are considered to
be inappropriate and normally will not be considered, unless otherwise
appropriate according to the principles stated herein:
(1) Names in low taste, commonplace or of obscure or private origin,
including names suggesting a relationship or friendship;
(2) Names of pets or of commercial products;
(3) Names of contributors of funds, equipment, and supplies, who
by means of their advertising have endeavored to gain commercial
advantage as a result of their donations. This would not include
advantages which result from testing of donated equipment under
Antarctic conditions;
(4) Descriptive names which are ambiguous, likely to have duplicates,
or not particularly appropriate;
(5) Personal names combining both the given and the family name,
or a given name only. Given names might be acceptable in unusual
situations, or to avoid the application of identical toponyms;
(6) Names containing two generic terms, or a title, or an acronym.
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6. CRITERIA OF NAMES
APPROVAL
Name proposals will be considered by the Antarctic
Place-names Commission with regard to the following criteria:
(1) Chronological priority of discovery, possible
naming of the feature by an expedition leader, or other relevant
action;
(2) Importance of the feature in the course of research or field
work, or for navigation;
(3) Correspondence between contribution of a person or organization
and the category of the named feature;
(4) Brevity, easy pronunciation, and euphony of the proposed name;
(5) Extent to which usage has become established.
Names of geographical origin may be applied to features
of a different topographic feature class.
Proposed names with unsuitable generics may be considered
for approval with their generic terms modified by the Commission.
Usage considered sufficiently fixed or unanimous may
be accepted as valid grounds for approval of a name that otherwise
would not qualify.
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7. LANGUAGE AND SPELLING
Names are approved in their Bulgarian language forms
using Cyrillic script, together with Roman spelling versions obtained
as outlined herein. Generic elements of names will normally be translated
into one of the official Antarctic Treaty languages which use Roman
script (English, French, Spanish), with specific elements correspondingly
Romanized. Definite articles of place names which contain no generic
elements may be dropped in the process with generics added instead.
In the case of English language, conversion of Bulgarian names to
Roman spelling is based on the following graphemic correspondences
scheme:*
However, authentic Roman spellings of names of non-Bulgarian
origin, and traditional Roman spellings which exist for few Bulgarian
names will have priority.
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8. NAMES APPROVAL
PROCEDURES
Proposals for new names should be submitted to the
Antarctic Place-names Commission for approval, accompanied by full
information about the name, the reasons for its choice, and a clear
description of the feature. This should include:
- Proposed name form;
- Co-ordinates and elevation of midpoint or summit,
or of extremities if extended feature;
- Distance and direction from associated named or
unnamed features; topographic feature class;
- Feature characteristics (shape, dimensions, total
relief, steepness etc.);
- Photo reference (vertical, oblique, satellite image
etc.);
- Map reference (title, scale, year of publication);
- Reason for the choice of name;
- Date of discovery, recording, mapping etc. and
by whom (expedition or field party);
- Particulars to specific element of the name (if
an honoree, degree of association with the feature);
- Name and address of the proposer.
Appropriate international co-ordination should be
maintained to provide relevant comments and information before decisions
on new names are made. Names already approved by the Commission
might be changed in exceptional situations: to eliminate confusion
or ambiguity, to standardize spelling, or to streamline name forms
that are unnecessarily long or otherwise inconvenient. If a place
name is withdrawn in favour of another one, then its possible transfer
to a new feature may be considered. Proposed names should not be
used officially until their formal approval.
Sofia, March 2, 1995
* Originally developed in 1995 by the Antarctic Place-names
Commission of Bulgaria for the purposes of Antarctic place naming,
this transliteration scheme was subsequently promulgated for wider
usage by the Bulgarian Government Ordinances # 61 of 2 April 1999
and # 10 of 11 February 2000.
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