Misplaced Pages

#216783

27-422: The active use of the toponym (place name) can be traced from the 13th to the 19th centuries. In European sources, Tartary became the most common name for Central Asia that had no connection with the real polities or ethnic groups of the region; until the 19th century, European knowledge of the area remained extremely scarce and fragmentary. In modern English-speaking tradition, the region formerly known as Tartary

54-410: A conspiracy theory alleging the existence of an advanced "Tartarian Empire". [REDACTED] Media related to Tartary at Wikimedia Commons Toponymy Toponymy , toponymics , or toponomastics is the study of toponyms ( proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names ), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for

81-509: A flying golden ram. The name, however, is probably derived from an older language, such as Pelasgian , which was unknown to those who explained its origin. In his Names on the Globe , George R. Stewart theorizes that Hellespont originally meant something like 'narrow Pontus' or 'entrance to Pontus', Pontus being an ancient name for the region around the Black Sea , and by extension, for

108-534: A possible source of spiritual knowledge lacking in contemporary European society. In Five Years of Theosophy , edited by the Theosophist and scholar G.R.S. Mead , the polymath and "seer" Emanuel Swedenborg is quoted as having advised, "Seek for the Lost Word among the hierophants of Tartary, China, and Tibet." The use of "Tartary" declined as the region became more known to European geographers; however,

135-425: A proper name of any geographical feature , and full scope of the term also includes proper names of all cosmographical features. In a more specific sense, the term toponymy refers to an inventory of toponyms, while the discipline researching such names is referred to as toponymics or toponomastics . Toponymy is a branch of onomastics , the study of proper names of all kinds. A person who studies toponymy

162-399: A toponym, its specific language, its pronunciation, and its origins and meaning are all important facts to be recorded during name surveys. Scholars have found that toponyms provide valuable insight into the historical geography of a particular region. In 1954, F. M. Powicke said of place-name study that it "uses, enriches and tests the discoveries of archaeology and history and the rules of

189-658: A wide variety of formats, including hard-copy topographic maps as well as digital formats such as geographic information systems , Google Maps , or thesauri like the Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names . In 2002, the United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names acknowledged that while common, the practice of naming geographical places after living persons (toponymic commemoration) could be problematic. Therefore,

216-632: Is called toponymist . The term toponymy comes from Ancient Greek : τόπος / tópos , 'place', and ὄνομα / onoma , 'name'. The Oxford English Dictionary records toponymy (meaning "place name") first appearing in English in 1876. Since then, toponym has come to replace the term place-name in professional discourse among geographers . Toponyms can be divided in two principal groups: Various types of geographical toponyms (geonyms) include, in alphabetical order: Various types of cosmographical toponyms (cosmonyms) include: Probably

243-461: Is usually called Inner Asia or Central Eurasia . Much of this area consists of arid plains, the main nomadic population of which in the past was engaged in animal husbandry . Ignorance surrounding Tartary's use as a place name has spawned conspiracy theories including ideas of a "hidden past" and "mud floods ". Such theories assert that Tartary (or the " Tartarian Empire ") was a lost civilization with advanced technology and culture. This ignores

270-517: The Mongol Empire . The adding of an extra "r" to "Tatar" was suggestive of Tartarus , a Hell -like realm in Greek mythology . In the 18th century, conceptions of Siberia or Tartary and its inhabitants as "barbarous" by Enlightenment -era writers tied into contemporary concepts of civilization , savagery and racism . More positive opinions were also expressed by Europeans. Some saw Tartary as

297-537: The Persian Gulf naming dispute . On 20 September 1996 a note on the internet reflected a query by a Canadian surfer, who said as follows: 'One producer of maps labeled the water body "Persian Gulf" on a 1977 map of Iran, and then "Arabian Gulf", also in 1977, in a map which focused on the Gulf States . I would gather that this is an indication of the "politics of maps", but I would be interested to know if this

SECTION 10

#1732780424217

324-514: The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names recommends that it be avoided and that national authorities should set their own guidelines as to the time required after a person's death for the use of a commemorative name. In the same vein, writers Pinchevski and Torgovnik (2002) consider the naming of streets as a political act in which holders of the legitimate monopoly to name aspire to engrave their ideological views in

351-553: The dissolution of the Soviet Union . After 1830, in the wake of the Greek War of Independence and the establishment of an independent Greek state, Turkish, Slavic and Italian place names were Hellenized, as an effort of "toponymic cleansing." This nationalization of place names can also manifest itself in a postcolonial context. In Canada, there have been initiatives in recent years " to restore traditional names to reflect

378-475: The early modern period , as understanding of the geography increased, Europeans began to subdivide Tartary into sections with prefixes denoting the name of the ruling power or the geographical location. Thus, Siberia was Great Tartary or Russian Tartary , the Crimean Khanate was Little Tartary , Manchuria was Chinese Tartary , and western Central Asia (prior to becoming Russian Central Asia )

405-479: The philologists ." Toponyms not only illustrate ethnic settlement patterns, but they can also help identify discrete periods of immigration. Toponymists are responsible for the active preservation of their region's culture through its toponymy. They typically ensure the ongoing development of a geographical names database and associated publications, for recording and disseminating authoritative hard-copy and digital toponymic data. This data may be disseminated in

432-564: The Indigenous culture wherever possible ". Indigenous mapping is a process that can include restoring place names by Indigenous communities themselves. Frictions sometimes arise between countries because of toponymy, as illustrated by the Macedonia naming dispute in which Greece has claimed the name Macedonia , the Sea of Japan naming dispute between Japan and Korea , as well as

459-531: The first toponymists were the storytellers and poets who explained the origin of specific place names as part of their tales; sometimes place-names served as the basis for their etiological legends. The process of folk etymology usually took over, whereby a false meaning was extracted from a name based on its structure or sounds. Thus, for example, the toponym of Hellespont was explained by Greek poets as being named after Helle , daughter of Athamas , who drowned there as she crossed it with her brother Phrixus on

486-626: The most useful geographical reference system in the world. Consistency and accuracy are essential in referring to a place to prevent confusion in everyday business and recreation. A toponymist, through well-established local principles and procedures developed in cooperation and consultation with the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names (UNGEGN), applies the science of toponymy to establish officially recognized geographical names. A toponymist relies not only on maps and local histories, but interviews with local residents to determine names with established local usage. The exact application of

513-414: The new map to specify the detailed topographical portrayal and after consulting with and authorization of messr. Theodor von Heuglin and count Karl Graf von Waldburg-Zeil I have entered 118 names in the map: partly they are the names derived from celebrities of arctic explorations and discoveries, arctic travellers anyway as well as excellent friends, patrons, and participants of different nationalities in

540-470: The newest northpolar expeditions, partly eminent German travellers in Africa, Australia, America ...". Toponyms may have different names through time, due to changes and developments in languages, political developments and border adjustments to name but a few. More recently many postcolonial countries revert to their own nomenclature for toponyms that have been named by colonial powers. Place names provide

567-441: The sea itself. Especially in the 19th century, the age of exploration, a lot of toponyms got a different name because of national pride. Thus the famous German cartographer Petermann thought that the naming of newly discovered physical features was one of the privileges of a map-editor, especially as he was fed up with forever encountering toponyms like 'Victoria', 'Wellington', 'Smith', 'Jones', etc. He writes: "While constructing

SECTION 20

#1732780424217

594-440: The social space. Similarly, the revisionist practice of renaming streets , as both the celebration of triumph and the repudiation of the old regime is another issue of toponymy. Also, in the context of Slavic nationalism , the name of Saint Petersburg was changed to the more Slavic sounding Petrograd from 1914 to 1924, then to Leningrad following the death of Vladimir Lenin and back to Saint-Peterburg in 1991 following

621-593: The term " Siberia " being coined for the Asian half of the Russian Empire . By the 20th century, Tartary as a term for Siberia and Central Asia was obsolete. However, it lent the title to Peter Fleming 's 1936 book News from Tartary , which detailed his travels in Central Asia. Misinterpretations of Tartary as an empire distinct from the Mongol Empire or as an archaic name for Central Asia gave rise to

648-568: The term was still used long into the 19th century. Ethnographical data collected by Jesuit missionaries in China contributed to the replacement of " Chinese Tartary " with Manchuria in European geography by the early 18th century. The voyages of Egor Meyendorff and Alexander von Humboldt into this region gave rise to the term Central Asia in the early 19th century as well as supplementary terms such as Inner Asia , and Russian expansionism led to

675-620: The well-documented history of Asia , which Tartary refers to. In the present day, the Tartary region spans from central Afghanistan to northern Kazakhstan , as well as areas in present Mongolia , China and the Russian Far East in " Chinese Tartary ". Knowledge of Manchuria , Siberia and Central Asia in Europe prior to the 18th century was limited. The entire area was known simply as "Tartary" and its inhabitants "Tartars". In

702-455: Was done to avoid upsetting users of the Iran map and users of the map showing Arab Gulf States'. This symbolizes a further aspect of the topic, namely the spilling over of the problem from the purely political to the economic sphere. A geographic names board is an official body established by a government to decide on official names for geographical areas and features. Most countries have such

729-536: Was known as Independent Tartary . By the seventeenth century, however, largely under the influence of Catholic missionary writings, the word "Tartar" came to refer to the Manchus and the lands they ruled as "Tartary". European opinions of the area were often negative, and reflected the legacy of the Mongol invasions that originated from this region. The term originated in the wake of the widespread devastation spread by

#216783