Remembering the activity of the Hungarian Committee on Geographical Names: regulation of orthography and compilation of gazetteers
Abstract
Remembering the activity of the Hungarian Committee on Geographical Names: regulation of orthography and compilation of gazetteers
The author of the present paper, a cartographer, studies the questions of geographical names for the correct representation of seas in every respect. Determining and handling the Hungarian names for maritime features raise questions that are identical with those emerging in connection with land objects: spelling, standardization, determining “official” names, managing name changes, compiling gazetteers, etc. This paper is a salute to the colleagues who several years ago set the theoretical and practical basis for the studies of the author. Amongst the main foundational works, one has to mention the standardization work of the “National Committee for the Registration of Settlements”, which also published the “Gazetteer of Hungary” (‘Helységnévtár’) a century ago in 1913, and that of the Hungarian Committee on Geographical Names, which, since its foundation 50 years ago in 1963, has dealt with regulation of orthography (1965 and 1998) and compilation of gazetteers (1971, 1976–1981 and 1982). The author describes his work and studies related to the improvement of Gazetteer of Hungary, II. (‘Magyarország földrajzinévtára, II.’). He also clarifies some misunderstandings in connection with Hungarian gazetteers, which have already been published in philological papers.
