New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-05-27
REFORM ~ GEOGRAPHIC NOMENCLA

| In M details of current speech and writing j.
| ,bcrc moro confusion and uncertainty than in the
pronunciation and spelling Of geographical names
| No standard authority has hitherto been known
/ i'm this country, upon the subject Each maker
Of maps or gazcttecrs has followed his own free
| fancy and has been held worthy OF praise II only
| his work throughout was sclf-consstcn'. Local
| fashions and social fads have added variations
10 the general pcrplcxty and the result is that one
is not sure Of a spoken name until he hears IL
spcllrd nor of n written name until he hears il
pronounced. To go no further than few near
and homcly examples. who does not hesitate with
vofnl miegivines between writing Ncwburg and
) Ncwburgh or between Duchess and Dutchcss
Who spcakng of Mount Desert, is quite sure on
| which syllable Of the latter word 10 put the ac-
| cont There are innumcrablc other such unccr-
| rainiics many Of them of serious importance.
| Nearly two years ago, with Il view TO mitigating
| in some degree this nomcnclatunl evil. the Prc-
| dent appointed Board on Geographic Names, con-
si~tng ~ ten learned gentlemen connected with
tie Coast Survey and other Government bureaus
The primary object OF this board was 10 establish
| uniform usage in regard to geographic nomen
cla'rrc and photography on the maps ana
charts and in the books published by tho Govern
mcnt BIT II was evident that the effect OF ITO
work would De much wider, and that It's decisions
would generally come 10 be- recognized authority.
The board ha- held numerous meetings, and has
just issued is first report, containing an account OF
The rules adopted IN it's work, and it, decisions IN
more than 1000 disputed cases. This r.
mort will be received with interest hy the public.
especially by All concerned in scientific, literary
aud cducatiounl matters, and is worthy Of careful
consideration
Most Of the rules adopted seem wise, such as
,l,e pf le
burgh.' and ugh" in " borough; :" the omission OF
hyphens and wherever possible, Of {. H. lConrt
House after the names Of county seats. One, how
ever appears ill-adyiscl 10 cost in the manner ana
results Of IT, appication, namely, the avoidance
~ tie pot-essiyc form of names. In following
ihi- rule the board has gone into many sclfconrn-
diciions and ncooristc ab.urditcs which seriously
mar it, work The pos-c~sivc form il "avoidod"
simply by dropping the apo-lrophc. which il part
e IT, SIN. but retaining the - which is also
fari Of iis sir and the result is i word IN plural
form in a case where no plural should or could
exist For instance, Fisher, Island is made
Fishers Island. and Longs Peak If changed to
Longs Pra,-and So in the next report. We may
look for Pixies Peak, Frcmonts Peak, etc IL would
be- interesting 10 hear tire boards defence Of such
forms Nor is this rule consistently carried ont
for here j, Gcdncy's Channel changed. not to Gcd-
ncys. bat to Gcdncy Channel. and Elliots Knob 10
Elliott Knob II Fishers and Longs" why
not "Gcdneys" and Elotts"' Fakncrs Island
TOO. becomes not FalncrS but Falkncr II Is
a pity that the board did not have the courage
Of its convictions, and restore the original name
Falcon Island.
Many other .raiures Of the report deserve
hearty concentration; such as the smplifcaton in
spelling of Alaskan names, by which Tschitschiagol
becomes Chicagof. and Ooanalashka, tnalasSa
though II curious step in the other direction is
taken in distinguishing between two Rat Islands.
one being called Khwostof and the other
Scmisopochno Pleasant, too, is it to observe |
that the board insists upon Mount Rninicr, and
discards Mount Tacoma; which may gricvc local
pride" hut does Justice 10 n gallant discoycrer. |
Rcring Sea is confirmed, too, in accordance with |
the Danish Russian voyagcr's name Woods liOll |
is fixed upon us and perhaps it is just well. |
If people will speak hole "hOll,' they may a.
well complete tine anomaly by spelling Woods |
Woods" In foreign names there are many de-
cisions that will he accepted, and many that will |
not The public will gladly receive Beirut as the
best Of dozen forms Of the Syrian seaport :
name: and hold FIJI os better than Fidschl They
will probably not accept kongo for Congo, or
Kamcrun for Cam"roop, or Naa for Joppa, or
Masiat for Muscat; do see why they
should. But, on the whole the decisions Of the
board are in the direction of scusc and simplicity
and are cOmmcndablc an earnest, elaborate and
generally judicious effort for the improvement Of
our geographical nomenclature