How to translating geographical name?

by Target Language Translation Services

- September 26 2021

The first part of the problem is the chaotic nature in which almost everything in the world has been named. For thousands of years, of course, cultures and languages developed more or less in some level of isolation, and indigenous people had their own names for things. Over the centuries, empires rose up – such as the Roman Empire – which then haphazardly renamed things, adopted existing names but misspelled them, adapted existing names into their own naming system, and then also influenced spelling and naming convention of the native people they’d conquered, so that even the names they left untouched often varied or evolved.

This mish-mash of naming is also complex by the fact that spelling and grammar rules were not very organized or standardized for most of history. It’s a fairly recent phenomenon for languages to have fixed spellings and grammar. Up until a few hundred years ago, these elements of language were extremely variable, and place names around the world reflect this.

So, once you accept that the place names you encounter won’t necessarily follow any fixed pattern, you also have to tackle the fact that they have frequently been translated into other languages inconsistently.

There are several principles to keep in mind in the translation of geographical names.

Reinstatement of official English toponyms

For instance, where the generic of an English-language place name has been translated into French, it is essential to restore it to its original English form when translating the French document into English. In the following sentence, the toponyms have been translated into French but their official forms are English:

Le relief du plateau est plus particulièrement remarquable dans le nord de l’île Somerset, sur la presqu’île Brodeur, ainsi que dans le centre et l’ouest de l’île Prince of Wales.

Since, in accordance with the rules, the specific parts of these toponyms (Somerset, Brodeur, Prince of Wales) have not been modified in any way, it becomes more a question of verifying the official English form in the appropriate gazetteer than a question of translation. The original names are Somerset Island, Brodeur Peninsula and Prince of Wales Island.

Translation of the generic

General rule

The generic of a geographical feature name may be translated such as:

Sliabh Speirin (Irish) / Sperrin Mountains

Simonstad (Afrikaans) / Simon’s Town

Exceptions

The generic should not be translated in situations below. The name is left in its official form and is , as needed, by a geographical term describing the nature of the entity, which will be indicated in the gazetteer of the province or territory concerned.

The generic does not indicate the actual nature of the entity designated:

île Cooks (rock) (French) / Île Cooks rock

lac Cochémère (pond) (French) / Lac Cochémère pond

The generic is separated from the specific by one or more linking particles:

lac aux Saumons (French) / Lac aux Saumons

baie de la Sorcière (French) / Baie de la Sorcière

anse de la Pointe (French) / Anse de la Pointe

The name is preceded by the article "Le (La, Les, L’)," which is part of the toponym. The article is retained at the beginning of the toponym and the appropriate geographical term or a short description may be added for clarity:

Les Chutes (French) / Les Chutes or the falls known as Les Chutes

La Grande Rivière (French) / La Grande Rivière

Le Petit Étang (French) / Le Petit Étang or the pond known as Le Petit Étang

Translation of the specific

Only the specific element or elements of the name are translated as the following:

Sierra del Sur (Spanish) / Southern Sierra

Pacific Ocean / Stiller Ozean (German)

Non-translation of the specific

With the exception of names of pan-Canadian significance and some alternate forms approved by provincial authorities, the specific is not translated. It must be left in its official form, with all hyphens, articles, accents, diacritical marks and capital letters. Nothing is added and nothing omitted:

pointe Enragée (French) / Enragée Point

rivière Saint-Augustin (French) / Saint-Augustin River

Translation of the specific and the generic

Both specific and generic elements are translated such as:

Tafelberg (Afrikaans) / Table Mountain.

Adjectives and points of the compass

Adjectives such as grand, petit, supérieur, inférieur, as well as points of the compass, are translated when they qualify the generic:

ruisseau Saint-Jean Nord (French) / North Saint-Jean Creek

Petit lac Saint-Amour (French) / Little Saint-Amour Lake

Petite rivière Grand (French) / Little Grand River

They are not translated if they qualify the specific or replace it, or if they precede a generic not by a specific:

lac Grande Gueule (French) / Grande Gueule Lake

rivière Ouest (French) / Ouest River

Petit Ruisseau (French) / Petit Creek

Alternate names and provincial translations

Although the official names of toponyms should always be given preference, provincial and territorial authorities allow, in certain circumstances, the use of geographical names that are not official.

For instance, Manitoba has approved the following equivalent names for use:

Plum River (official) / Rivière aux Prunes (equivalent)

Rat River (official) / Rivière aux Rats (equivalent)

Rivière aux Marais (official) / Marais River (equivalent)

At the same time, some provinces have official translations for certain features and places.

New Brunswick, for instance, has the following official names in both English and French:

Caissie Cape (rural community) /Cap-des-Caissie

Second Falls (falls) / Deuxième Sault

Grand Falls (town) / Grand-Sault

St. Francis River / Rivière Saint-François

Green River / Rivière Verte

Ontario has also recommended official alternate French names for three rivers:

Detroit River / Rivière Détroit

French River / Rivière des Français

St. Clair River / Rivière Sainte-Claire

In conclusion, a proper toponymist need to combine the skills comprised within transliteration, transcription and translation when it comes to geographical name translation, since this is indeed no easy task.

This article is reprinted from Canada.ca and BLEND.

If there is a copyright, please inform us in time, we will delete it right the first time.