Geographical Names
Crossword
Down
1: a person living in Peru
3: South Pole
7: English name for the German region
‘Lausitz’
8: scientific term of a name for a geographical feature in another language
Across:
2: What is the name of the national park
near Dresden which is popular among
climbers because of its sandstone rocks?
4: Where is the EU Parliament located?
5: What is the name of the German federal
state with the capital Munich?
6: The Eyjafjallajökull is an ______ volcano.
9: a place name, in particular one derived
from a topographical feature.
Fill in the gaps
Germany shares borders with ___ Netherlands, ___ Belgium, ___ Luxemburg and ___ France in ___
West, with ___ Switzerland and ___ Austria in ___ South and with ___ Czech Republic and ___
Poland in ___ East. The frontiers to ___ West follow natural features for a relatively short stretch of
___ River Rhine between ___ Basel and ___ Karlsruhe; ___ southern boarder is marked by ___ Swiss
and Bavarian Alps. Further eastwards the mountain ranges of ___ Bohemian Forest and ___
Erzgebirge divide southern and eastern Germany from ___ Czech Republic. Germany’s principal sea
harbors are ___ Hamburg at the mouth of ___ Elbe on ___ North Sea coast, and ___ Rostock, which
has direct access to ___ the Baltic Sea.
Translate
Die Türkei und die ehemalige Tschechoslowakei bemühten sich 1991 um die Aufnahme in die EG.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Die Pakistanische Fußballnationalmannschaft reiste 1969 in den Iran und errangen einen 2:1 Sieg
gegenden Irak.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Man wächst an der Themse anders auf als an der Spree, am Bodensee oder am Inn.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Im Vergleich zum Großglockner oder dem Dachstein stellte der Mount Snowdon keine
Herausforderung dar.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Seminar: Advanced Translation, Eva Stahlheber
Patricia Niemöller - Cindy Traste - Elisabeth Freymann - Tina Schulz - 04.12.2012 – WS 2012/13
Geographical Names
Definitions
toponym:
a place name, especially one derived from a topographical feature. (ODO)
proper name: a name, consisting of a proper noun or noun phrase including a proper noun, that
designates an individual person, place, organization, tame animal, ship, etc., and is
usually written with an initial capital letter.
endonym:
‘Name of a geographical feature in one of the languages occurring in that area where
the feature is situated.’
exonym:
‘Name used in a specific language for a geographical feature situated outside the
area where that language has official status, and differing in its form from the name
used in the official language(s) where the geographical feature is situated.’
Tips and Recommendations
1. If no commonly used exonym is available, use endonym!
2. When using endonyms, be consistent!
3. If there are too many endonyms, use exonym! (e.g. The Alps)
4. Recommendation of the UN: minimize use of exonyms in international usage, especially in
scientific/academic context.
5. When there is doubt about translating a proper name, consult a dictionary or find an official
document that serves as a primary source.
EU Guidelines
- Interinstitutional Style Guide in 23 languages:
http://publications.europa.eu/code/en/en-000100.htm
- the Directorate-General for Translation of the European Commission publishes its own English Style Guide:
http://ec.europa.eu/translation/english/guidelines/documents/styleguide_english_dgt_en.pdf
- similar website initiated by the US Board on Geographic Names
http://geonames.usgs.gov/index.html
Countries And Their Inhabitants
- always consult your dictionary and the internet (EU Guidelines, US Board on Geographic Names)
for the correct names and spelling!
- adjectives and names of the inhabitants are not always the same
- to form the plural of a countries' inhabitants, add an -s
- words ending in -man and -woman change to -men and -women
- IMPORTANT EXCEPTIONS: Swiss and names that end in -ese (Ex. Japanese) stay the same
Regions
Baltic Sea Coast, North Sea Coast, Luneburg Heath, Uckermark, Lusatia, Saxon Swizerland,
Rhine Valley, Black Forest
Seminar: Advanced Translation, Eva Stahlheber
Patricia Niemöller - Cindy Traste - Elisabeth Freymann - Tina Schulz - 04.12.2012 – WS 2012/13
Geographical Names
German Federal States
Mecklenburg- Western Pomerania, Lower Saxony, Saxony Anhalt, Saxony, Thuringia,
North Rhine-Westphalia, Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate, Bavaria
Rivers
Moselle for Mosel  only if the context is solely of country
Rhine for Rhein, Danube for Donau, Thames for Themse, Nile for Nil, Elbe is Labe in Czech
 If included at all, the word ‘river’ normally precedes the proper name (the River Thames), unless it
is regarded as an integral part of the name (the Yellow River). In either case, it takes a capital letter.
The Use of the Definitive Article
Names with ‘Republic’/
‘States’/ ‘Kingdom’/
‘Union’
Deserts and Forests
Oceans/ Seas/ Rivers/
Canals/ Gulfs
Peninsulas and
Archipelagos
Directions and Points on
the Globe
Continents/ Countries/
Cities
Single Islands
Streets
Squares and Parks
Single Mountains
Lakes/ Bays/ Falls
the former
Czechoslovakia
the former USSR
Streets (the Strand
the Mall, the High)
Isle of …
Bay of …
Groups of Islands
German Mountains
Ranges of Mountains
Sources
Bokor Language Service: http://www.bokorlang.com/journal/28names.html, 28.11.12
Castañeda-Hernández, Gilberto. “Navigating through Treacherous Waters: The Translation of Geographical Names.”
Translation Journal 8.2 (2004).
Humphrey, Richard.Grundkurs Übersetzen Deutsch-English. Stuttgart: Klett, 2007.
Jordan, Peter / Orožen Adamič, Milan / Woodman, Paul (eds.): Exonyms and the International Standardisation of
Geographical Names. Approaches towards the Resolution of an Apparent Contradiction. Wien, Berlin 2007 ( =
Wiener Osteuropastudien 24).
MAP: http://mapsof.net/uploads/static-maps/germany_regions_map.png , 28.11.2012.
Murphy, Raymond.EssentailGrammar in Use: A self-studyreferenceandpracticebookfor
elementarystudentyof English.Third Edition. Cambridge: UP, 2009.
Oxford Advanced Dictionary. 7th edition. Oxford: UP, 2007.
Oxford Dictionaries Online, http://www.oxforddictionaries.com,28.11.2012.
Oxford English Dictionary: http://wwwdb.dbod.de:2173/view/Entry/152660?redirectedFrom= Proper+noun#eid90452093,
28.11.2012
Preschool by Stormie: http://www.preschoolbystormie.com/continents.jpg, 28.11. 2012.
Seminar: Advanced Translation, Eva Stahlheber
Patricia Niemöller - Cindy Traste - Elisabeth Freymann - Tina Schulz - 04.12.2012 – WS 2012/13