Talk "The crucial and contested concept of the endonym/exonym divide"

                                                                                                               

Paul Woodman has called it the “great toponymic divide”, but the endonym/exonym distinction is not a concept confined solely to toponymy, it can be transferred to all name categories, where the name used by insiders may differ from the name used by outsiders, e.g., to ethnonyms, anthro ponyms, names of institutions, where we frequently meet, for instance nicknames and derogative designa- tions used by outsiders. But there is no doubt that this divide has its focus on toponymy, since it corresponds there to two basic human attitudes: (1) to the distinction between ‛mine’ and ‛yours’, ‛ours’ and ‛theirs’, and (2) to territoriality, the desire to own a place, which appears at all levels of the construction of human community — from the level of the family up to that of nations. Thus, it has always a political, social, and juridical meaning and is frequently a reason for dispute and conflict. However, even after long and intensive discussions, e.g., in the UNGEGN Working Group of Exonyms, to date we can still see rather divergent approaches to this divide. There is the linguistic approach regarding the endonym and the exonym rather as poles of a continuum, with various intermediary stages. Alternatively, there is the cultural-geographical approach that accepts no other criteria than the spatial relation between the name-using community and the geographical feature denoted by the name. The article elaborates on these items, mainly on the basis of the discussions and publications of the UNGEGN Working Group on Exonyms since 2002.

Talk: "Gaelic Place Names of the Central Belt"

 

The researcher of Ainmean-Àite na h-Alba (AÀA) (national advisory partnership for Gaelic place-names in Scotland), Jake King, will be giving a talk on Gaelic place-names in the Central Belt at 6:30pm on Wednesday the 24th of November on Zoom.

If you are interested in attending please email anclascamelon@gmail.com for further information.

Talk ‘Stair Cheilte na Logainmneacha - The Hidden History of Placenames’

 link

‘Stair Cheilte na Logainmneacha - The Hidden History of Placenames’

Fri 17th Sep 1:00pm - 2:00pm

Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin, 37 Great James St, Londonderry BT48 7DF, UK

Dr Frances Kane, The Northern Ireland Placename Project,

Dr Frances Kane is a Research Fellow who works to establish the linguistic origins of townland names and other historical names within The Northern Ireland Place-Name Project which has been based at the Celtic department at Queen's University Belfast since 1987. 

Her talk, entitled ‘Stair Cheilte na Logainmneacha - The Hidden History of Placenames’ will detail her current research, and explore the various historical events, linguistic developments and changes in the social context within which contemporary place-names in Ireland have been coined and used since earliest records began. This talk will be delivered in English.

Please note that event details may change at short notice on account of Covid-19 regulations, please check www.derrystrabane.com/culturenight for updates.
Further information: gaeilge@derrystrabane.com