A Park Path Becomes a Memorial: Paris Names an Allée After Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas

 On Tuesday 6 October 2026, the eve of the third anniversary of the 7 October 2023 attacks, the City of Paris inaugurated an allée in the Parc Monceau (8th arrondissement) carrying the names of Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas. The ceremony was led by Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire, with part of the Bibas family and representatives of the Paris Council and the Jewish community of France attending. Shiri and her sons, Ariel (4) and Kfir (9 months), were abducted from their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz by Hamas. The council adopted the naming unanimously after a minute of silence.

Three things a toponymist notices

1. A family, not a figure. Most commemorative names honour one individual. This one dedicates a path to a mother and two children together. The park's other allées honour single people, such as Michel Berger, whose allée was named in 2012 because he lived near the park for a long time. The park is also crossed by allées named for France Gall, the Comtesse de Ségur and Jacques Garnerin, and by the avenue Ferdousi.

2. Victims rather than achievers. The Parc Monceau names usually celebrate artists and public figures. This one is a memorial name. The City says it inscribes the memory of the Bibas family in public space and reaffirms its commitment to remembrance and to fighting antisemitism, racism and discrimination. The deliberation says the children's violated innocence has become a symbol of antisemitic hatred. Ariel and Kfir, with their red hair, have become emblematic of the drama of those abducted on 7 October.

3. The names themselves. All three are Hebrew. Ariel is usually glossed "lion of God", Kfir "young lion" and Shiri "my song". These meanings come from general onomastic knowledge, not from the sources above.

Why the place matters

The City chose an allée it describes as particularly calm, in what it calls one of the most beautiful gardens in Paris. A path in a park invites a pause in a way a street name does not. Memorial toponymy depends on that kind of setting: the name is meant to be read slowly, not passed on the way to somewhere else. timesofisrael

A name on a plaque is a modest thing. What matters is who gets to be named and where, and in the Conseil de Paris this decision was unanimous.

ONOMASTICS ONLINE | Sambulo Ndlovu: The headedness of proper names

 

The lecture series Onomastics Online continued on 8 October 2026 with a lecture presented by Sambulo Ndlovu (University of Eswatini, Eswatini) with the title "The headness of proper names". Keywords: #noun #propernoun #propernames #headedness #identity Abstract: Proper names pose several challenges if analysed using noun phrase rules and configurations in generative grammar. The refined definite reference in them marks the biggest difference with appellatives. This has resulted in several approaches to the structure of proper names in syntactic theory. Payne and Huddleston (2002) analyse them into proper nouns and proper names which are lexical and phrasal categories respectively. Such an analysis identifies the proper noun as the head of a proper name phrase. However, this approach runs into problems in cases of multiple proper nouns in the same proper name and proper names with no proper noun. Others have opted to analyse them using the DP Hypothesis and make them nominal phrases that complement the D in the DP structure (Abbott, 2002; Carroll, 1985). This approach also runs into its own structural problems too. This lecture uses X-bar schema to propose a different structure on the headedness of proper names. It challenges the proper noun and determiner heads and proposes a neutral head for the proper name NPs. Onomastics Online (ICOS – International Council of Onomastic Sciences) is a series of online lectures dealing with important timely topics related to names and naming. Presented by distinguished scholars from various academic backgrounds, the lectures demonstrate the importance and the multidisciplinary nature of onomastic research. To see the list of upcoming and past lectures, please visit our webpage at: https://icosweb.net/onomastics-online/. Previous lectures can be found on our YouTube channel:    / @theinternationalcouncilofo2460  . If you are interested in ICOS membership, please see the details here: https://icosweb.net/membership/member.... For updates and scholarly engagement, connect with us on any of our platforms: YOUTUBE    / @theinternationalcouncilofo2460   LINKEDIN   / 4081415   FACEBOOK   / icosweb   X https://x.com/ICOSnews

A Century of Names: Celebrating Belgium’s Royal Commission for Toponymy and Dialectology, 1926–2026

Poster concept by Eugen Schochenmaier - unofficial tribute

 

A place name is something we use almost without thinking. Yet behind a familiar village, stream or street name may lie an earlier language, a vanished landscape, a remembered occupation or generations of local pronunciation. To take such names seriously is to take seriously the people who have inhabited, worked and described a place. In 2026, Belgium celebrates a century of an institution devoted to that patient attention: the Royal Commission for Toponymy and Dialectology, known as the KCTD in Dutch and the CRTD in French.

Its centenary coincides with the fiftieth anniversary of the National Geographic Institute in its present form. The joint celebration honours a productive encounter between linguistic scholarship and geographical practice: understanding names, documenting them and making them usable in public life. ^{1, 2}

The Commission was established by royal decree on 7 April 1926, under Minister of Arts and Sciences Camille Huysmans. Its Flemish and Walloon sections provided an enduring framework for cooperation. Its published history records discussions on municipal spelling in 1927 and work on names appearing on military maps in 1928. ³

The choice to bring toponymy and dialectology together was intellectually important. Historical spellings alone cannot always explain a name; local pronunciation and the history of sound change may be equally revealing. Jean Loicq’s methodological account insists on historical phonetics and warns against misleading appearances. The lesson remains pertinent: an attractive resemblance to a modern word is the beginning of a question, not the end of an etymology. ⁴

This tradition has depended on people as much as institutions. Jean Haust, a member from 1926, combined dialect enquiry with toponymic investigation; his Enquête dialectale sur la toponymie wallonne appeared in 1940–1941. H. J. Van de Wijer assembled a bibliography of Flemish toponymy for the Commission’s first volumes. Their complementary work illustrates two foundations of lasting research: listening carefully and making existing knowledge findable. ^{5, 6}

The bilingual Bulletin / Handelingen, first published in 1927, gave such work a continuing scholarly home. The Commission now directs readers to a peer-reviewed, open-access journal platform at Ghent University. The benefit is considerable: a local name studied many decades ago can re-enter a new investigation rather than remain buried in a difficult-to-find volume. ^{7, 8}

The breadth of that record also matters. Jan Grauls’s 1930 article on given names in Hasselt shows the early presence of anthroponymy. B. Frankinet’s 2021 study of Walloon dialect lexicography illustrates the continuing place of dialect research. The Commission’s achievement encompasses people’s names and living vocabularies as well as geographical names. ^{9, 10}

Its books turn cumulative research into tools that others can use. De Vlaamse gemeentenamen, first published in 2010 by Frans Debrabandere, Magda Devos, Paul Kempeneers, Victor Mennen, Hugo Ryckeboer and Ward Van Osta, appeared in a substantially revised edition in 2022. The additions include an index of Germanic personal names occurring in municipal names—a particularly revealing connection between anthroponymy and toponymy. ¹¹

Two further achievements deserve special mention. De Vlaamse waternamen appeared in 2016 and 2018, bringing together research on some 9,000 watercourses in Flanders and Brussels. On the Romance and German-speaking side, Jean Loicq’s Les noms de rivières de Wallonie y compris les régions germanophones appeared in 2014. Jean Germain’s 2020 study of official municipal names adds historical spellings, pronunciation, regional forms and names for inhabitants to the reference literature. ^{12, 13}

Such works are valuable because names rarely respect the boundaries of a single discipline. The historian needs linguistic expertise; the linguist needs dated documents and geographical context; the local researcher may preserve information unavailable in administrative records. A well-documented dictionary allows these kinds of knowledge to meet. Its authority comes from evidence that can be examined and, when necessary, revised.

The Commission also brings that discipline into public decision-making. Its published guidance addresses street names and the names of merged municipalities, recommending consultation early in the process. The example Pelt, bringing together Neerpelt and Overpelt, illustrates the possibility of retaining a shared historical name element. Crucially, the Commission supplies expertise: it is an advisory body, not the authority that decides every Belgian place name. ^{14, 15}

The anniversary announcement dates the cartographic partnership’s key milestone to 1947, following the Second International Congress of Toponymy and Anthroponymy. The institutional names require care: the partner then belonged to the IGN/NGI’s military predecessors. The current National Geographic Institute was created on 8 June 1976; its institutional lineage reaches back to 1831. ^{1, 2}

The wider international setting is equally significant. The second congress took place in Paris in 1947; in 1949, the Brussels congress established the international onomastic organisation now known as ICOS, with its early centre in Leuven. These are related chapters in the organisation of name studies, not interchangeable institutions. They show Belgium’s place in the development of international scholarly cooperation. ¹⁶

A contemporary example makes the partnership’s value especially tangible. In 2024, the IGN and the Service public de Wallonie launched a project to harmonise watercourse names across their datasets. It combines local consultation, historical and cartographic documentation, and linguistic validation by the Commission. The intended result is consistent naming of each river segment across the participating datasets. ¹⁷

This is where apparently specialised scholarship becomes public infrastructure. When a place is identified consistently, information about it is easier to connect. The UN Group of Experts on Geographical Names, UNGEGN, links standardisation with reliable mapping, navigation, administration and data integration, while encouraging names that reflect local languages and traditions. Scholarly care and practical clarity can reinforce one another. ¹⁸

The digital setting opens further possibilities. Through Cartesius, the IGN and partner heritage institutions make historical geographical material available for exploration. Used alongside modern maps and the Commission’s publications, such resources invite comparisons between successive representations of a place. They also invite a necessary question: whose usage did a particular map record? ¹⁹

The finest tribute to this centenary is therefore a commitment to the habits that make the work trustworthy: patient collection, criticism of sources, attention to pronunciation and respect for local knowledge. Digital tools can multiply access; they cannot, by themselves, decide whether a proposed etymology is sound.

A century of the KCTD/CRTD deserves celebration because it has helped make names a sustained object of scholarship and public care. We honour the researchers, local informants, editors and cartographers who have made that continuity possible—and the next generation who will question, enrich and carry it forward.

The anniversary gathering — Brussels, 17 October 2026

The academic session takes place at the Palace of the Academies, Rue Ducale/Hertogsstraat 1, Brussels, followed by a reception. The programme, supplied by the organisers, is:

• 10:00 — Doors open.
• 10:15 — Introduction by Chris De Wulf, Secretary-General of the KCTD/CRTD.
• 10:30 — Introduction by Ingrid Vanden Berghe, Administrator-General of the IGN/NGI.
• 10:45 — Looking back and ahead, with Ann Marynissen and Jean Germain.
• 11:15 — Water names in north-western Brussels, with Pierre van Nieuwenhuysen.
• 11:45 — From national toponymy to worldwide standardisation: UNGEGN’s role, with Jeanne Henrion.
• 12:15 — Reception and networking.

Participation is free. The announced registration deadline was 5 October 2026 and has passed. Anyone still wishing to attend should contact the organisers about availability; late registration is not confirmed. ¹

Un siècle de noms:

Hommage à la Commission royale de toponymie et de dialectologie de Belgique, 1926–2026

Nous employons les noms de lieux presque sans y penser. Pourtant, derrière le nom familier d’un village, d’un ruisseau ou d’une rue peuvent se cacher une langue ancienne, un paysage disparu, un métier oublié ou des générations de prononciations locales. Prendre ces noms au sérieux, c’est porter attention aux personnes qui ont habité, travaillé et décrit un territoire. En 2026, la Belgique célèbre le centenaire d’une institution qui cultive cette attention patiente : la Commission royale de toponymie et de dialectologie, la CRTD en français, la KCTD en néerlandais.

Ce centenaire coïncide avec les cinquante ans de l’Institut géographique national dans sa forme actuelle. Leur célébration commune met à l’honneur une rencontre féconde entre recherche linguistique et pratique géographique : comprendre les noms, les documenter et permettre leur utilisation dans la vie publique. ^{1, 2}

La Commission fut créée par arrêté royal le 7 avril 1926, sous le ministre des Arts et des Sciences Camille Huysmans. Ses sections flamande et wallonne ont offert un cadre durable de coopération. Son historique mentionne des discussions sur la graphie des noms de communes dès 1927 et des travaux sur les noms des cartes militaires en 1928. ³

Associer toponymie et dialectologie était un choix scientifique essentiel. Les graphies anciennes ne suffisent pas toujours à expliquer un nom ; sa prononciation locale et l’évolution des sons peuvent être tout aussi éclairantes. Dans son exposé méthodologique, Jean Loicq souligne l’importance de la phonétique historique et les pièges des apparences. La leçon reste actuelle : une ressemblance séduisante avec un mot moderne ouvre une question ; elle ne prouve pas une étymologie. ⁴

Cette tradition repose autant sur des personnes que sur des institutions. Jean Haust, membre dès 1926, associait enquête dialectale et recherche toponymique ; son Enquête dialectale sur la toponymie wallonne parut en 1940–1941. H. J. Van de Wijer établit une bibliographie de la toponymie flamande pour les premiers volumes de la Commission. Leurs contributions illustrent deux fondements d’une recherche durable : écouter avec précision et rendre les connaissances antérieures accessibles. ^{5, 6}

Le Bulletin / Handelingen, publication bilingue inaugurée en 1927, a donné à ces recherches un lieu de rencontre pérenne. La Commission renvoie aujourd’hui vers une plateforme de revue scientifique en libre accès, hébergée par l’Université de Gand. Un nom étudié il y a plusieurs décennies peut ainsi retrouver sa place dans une nouvelle enquête, au lieu de rester enfoui dans un volume difficile à consulter. ^{7, 8}

L’étendue de ce patrimoine éditorial mérite également d’être soulignée. L’article de Jan Grauls sur les prénoms à Hasselt, publié en 1930, témoigne de la présence ancienne de l’anthroponymie. L’étude de B. Frankinet sur l’actualisation de la lexicographie dialectale wallonne, parue en 2021, rappelle la continuité des recherches sur les parlers régionaux. L’apport de la Commission concerne donc aussi les noms de personnes et les vocabulaires vivants. ^{9, 10}

Ses ouvrages transforment les résultats accumulés en instruments de travail. De Vlaamse gemeentenamen, publié en 2010 par Frans Debrabandere, Magda Devos, Paul Kempeneers, Victor Mennen, Hugo Ryckeboer et Ward Van Osta, a connu une édition profondément remaniée en 2022. Parmi les nouveautés figure un index des noms de personnes germaniques présents dans les noms de communes : un lien particulièrement instructif entre anthroponymie et toponymie. ¹¹

Deux autres réalisations méritent une place d’honneur. Les volumes de De Vlaamse waternamen, parus en 2016 et 2018, réunissent des recherches sur quelque 9 000 cours d’eau de Flandre et de Bruxelles. Jean Loicq a publié en 2014 Les noms de rivières de Wallonie y compris les régions germanophones. L’ouvrage de Jean Germain sur les noms officiels des communes, paru en 2020, enrichit cet ensemble par l’histoire des graphies, la prononciation, les formes régionales et les gentilés. ^{12, 13}

La valeur de ces travaux tient aussi au fait que les noms traversent les frontières disciplinaires. L’historien a besoin du linguiste ; le linguiste, de documents datés et d’un contexte géographique ; l’enquêteur local peut conserver un savoir absent des archives administratives. Un dictionnaire solidement documenté permet la rencontre de ces connaissances. Son autorité repose sur des éléments vérifiables, susceptibles d’être réexaminés.

La Commission apporte également cette rigueur aux décisions publiques. Ses recommandations portent sur les noms de rues et de communes fusionnées et préconisent une consultation dès le début du processus. L’exemple de Pelt, issu de Neerpelt et d’Overpelt, montre comment préserver un élément historique commun. Une distinction demeure essentielle : la Commission conseille ; elle n’est pas l’autorité qui décide de tous les noms de lieux en Belgique. ^{14, 15}

L’annonce du centenaire situe en 1947, à la suite du Deuxième Congrès international de toponymie et d’anthroponymie, une étape déterminante du partenariat cartographique. Il convient toutefois de respecter la chronologie institutionnelle : le partenaire appartenait alors aux prédécesseurs militaires de l’IGN. L’Institut géographique national actuel fut créé le 8 juin 1976 ; sa filiation institutionnelle remonte à 1831. ^{1, 2}

Le contexte international est tout aussi significatif. Le deuxième congrès eut lieu à Paris en 1947 ; en 1949, le congrès de Bruxelles donna naissance à l’organisation onomastique internationale aujourd’hui connue sous le nom d’ICOS, dont le premier centre se trouvait à Louvain. Ces histoires se croisent sans se confondre. Elles rappellent la place de la Belgique dans la construction de la coopération scientifique internationale autour des noms. ¹⁶

Un projet contemporain rend particulièrement visible l’utilité du partenariat. En 2024, l’IGN et le Service public de Wallonie ont lancé un travail d’harmonisation des noms de cours d’eau dans leurs données. Il associe consultation locale, documentation historique et cartographique, et validation linguistique par la Commission. L’objectif est de désigner de manière cohérente chaque segment de cours d’eau dans les jeux de données concernés. ¹⁷

Une recherche apparemment spécialisée contribue ainsi à l’infrastructure de l’information publique. Identifier un lieu de façon cohérente facilite le rapprochement des données qui le concernent. Le Groupe d’experts des Nations unies pour les noms géographiques, GENUNG, relie la normalisation à la cartographie, à la navigation, à l’administration et à l’intégration des données, tout en encourageant le respect des langues et traditions locales. Rigueur scientifique et clarté pratique peuvent se renforcer mutuellement. ¹⁸

Le numérique ouvre d’autres possibilités. Avec Cartesius, l’IGN et des institutions patrimoniales partenaires donnent accès à des ressources géographiques historiques. Leur confrontation avec les cartes actuelles et les publications de la Commission permet d’étudier les représentations successives d’un territoire. Elle invite aussi à poser une question indispensable : de quel usage une carte donnée porte-t-elle témoignage ? ¹⁹

Le plus bel hommage à ce centenaire consiste donc à poursuivre les pratiques qui rendent cette recherche digne de confiance : collecte patiente, critique des sources, attention aux prononciations et respect des savoirs locaux. Les outils numériques multiplient les possibilités de consultation ; ils ne peuvent, à eux seuls, garantir la justesse d’une étymologie.

La CRTD mérite d’être célébrée pour avoir fait des noms un objet durable de recherche et d’attention publique. Rendons hommage aux chercheurs, informateurs locaux, responsables de publication et cartographes qui ont assuré cette continuité, ainsi qu’aux nouvelles générations qui la questionneront, l’enrichiront et la prolongeront.

La célébration — Bruxelles, le 17 octobre 2026

La séance académique se tiendra au Palais des Académies, rue Ducale 1, Bruxelles, et sera suivie d’une réception. Voici le programme communiqué par les organisateurs :

• 10 h 00 — Ouverture des portes.
• 10 h 15 — Introduction par Chris De Wulf, secrétaire général de la CRTD/KCTD.
• 10 h 30 — Introduction par Ingrid Vanden Berghe, administrateur général de l’IGN.
• 10 h 45 — Regard sur le passé et l’avenir, avec Ann Marynissen et Jean Germain.
• 11 h 15 — Les noms de cours d’eau dans le nord-ouest de Bruxelles, avec Pierre van Nieuwenhuysen.
• 11 h 45 — De la toponymie nationale à la normalisation mondiale : l’action de l’UNGEGN, avec Jeanne Henrion.
• 12 h 15 — Réception et échanges.

La participation est gratuite. La date limite d’inscription annoncée, le 5 octobre 2026, est dépassée. Les personnes souhaitant encore participer sont invitées à contacter les organisateurs pour connaître les disponibilités ; la possibilité d’une inscription tardive n’est pas confirmée. ¹

Een eeuw namen:

Hulde aan de Koninklijke Commissie voor Toponymie en Dialectologie, 1926–2026

We gebruiken plaatsnamen haast zonder erbij stil te staan. Toch kan achter de vertrouwde naam van een dorp, beek of straat een vroegere taal schuilgaan, een verdwenen landschap, een vergeten beroep of een uitspraak die generaties lang is doorgegeven. Wie zulke namen ernstig neemt, heeft ook aandacht voor de mensen die een plaats hebben bewoond, bewerkt en beschreven. In 2026 viert België honderd jaar Koninklijke Commissie voor Toponymie en Dialectologie, de KCTD in het Nederlands en de CRTD in het Frans: een instelling die van die geduldige aandacht haar opdracht heeft gemaakt.

Het eeuwfeest valt samen met het vijftigjarige bestaan van het Nationaal Geografisch Instituut in zijn huidige vorm. Hun gezamenlijke viering brengt een vruchtbare samenwerking voor het voetlicht: taalkundige kennis en geografische expertise helpen ons namen te begrijpen, te documenteren en zorgvuldig te gebruiken. ^{1, 2}

De Commissie werd opgericht bij koninklijk besluit van 7 april 1926, onder minister van Kunsten en Wetenschappen Camille Huysmans. Haar Vlaamse en Waalse afdeling boden een duurzaam kader voor samenwerking. De eigen geschiedschrijving vermeldt discussies over de spelling van gemeentenamen in 1927 en onderzoek naar namen op militaire kaarten in 1928. ³

Toponymie en dialectologie samenbrengen was een belangrijke wetenschappelijke keuze. Oude schrijfwijzen volstaan niet altijd om een naam te verklaren; de plaatselijke uitspraak en de geschiedenis van klankveranderingen kunnen even verhelderend zijn. Jean Loicq beklemtoont in zijn methodologische uiteenzetting het belang van de historische klankleer en waarschuwt voor bedrieglijke gelijkenissen. Die les blijft actueel: een treffende overeenkomst met een hedendaags woord roept een vraag op, maar bewijst nog geen etymologie. ⁴

Die traditie werd gedragen door mensen. Jean Haust, lid vanaf 1926, verbond dialectonderzoek met toponymie; zijn Enquête dialectale sur la toponymie wallonne verscheen in 1940–1941. H. J. Van de Wijer stelde voor de eerste jaargangen een bibliografie van de Vlaamse toponymie samen. Hun werk toont twee voorwaarden voor onderzoek dat standhoudt: nauwkeurig luisteren en bestaande kennis vindbaar maken. ^{5, 6}

De tweetalige Handelingen / Bulletin, waarvan de eerste jaargang in 1927 verscheen, gaf dat onderzoek een blijvend publicatieforum. Vandaag verwijst de Commissie naar een wetenschappelijk tijdschriftplatform in open access bij de Universiteit Gent. Dat maakt een wezenlijk verschil: een naam die tientallen jaren geleden werd onderzocht, kan opnieuw deel worden van een hedendaagse studie, zonder verborgen te blijven in een moeilijk bereikbaar boekdeel. ^{7, 8}

Ook de breedte van dat publicatiebestand verdient aandacht. Jan Grauls’ artikel uit 1930 over Hasseltse voornamen toont dat persoonsnaamkunde al vroeg aanwezig was. B. Frankinets bijdrage uit 2021 over de actualisering van de Waalse dialectlexicografie illustreert de blijvende aandacht voor streektaal. De betekenis van de Commissie reikt dus verder dan plaatsnamen alleen: ook persoonsnamen en levende woordenschat krijgen er een wetenschappelijke plaats. ^{9, 10}

De boeken van de Commissie maken opgebouwde kennis bruikbaar voor anderen. De Vlaamse gemeentenamen, in 2010 gepubliceerd door Frans Debrabandere, Magda Devos, Paul Kempeneers, Victor Mennen, Hugo Ryckeboer en Ward Van Osta, kreeg in 2022 een grondig herziene editie. Een van de aanvullingen is een index van Germaanse persoonsnamen die in gemeentenamen voorkomen: een bijzonder verhelderende verbinding tussen persoonsnaamkunde en plaatsnaamkunde. ¹¹

Twee andere verwezenlijkingen verdienen bijzondere vermelding. De Vlaamse waternamen verscheen in 2016 en 2018 en bundelt onderzoek naar ongeveer 9.000 waterlopen in Vlaanderen en Brussel. Jean Loicq publiceerde in 2014 Les noms de rivières de Wallonie y compris les régions germanophones. Jean Germains studie uit 2020 over officiële gemeentenamen verrijkt het geheel met historische schrijfwijzen, uitspraakgegevens, regionale vormen en inwonersnamen. ^{12, 13}

Zulke werken zijn waardevol omdat namen zich zelden aan de grenzen van één vakgebied houden. Historici hebben taalkundige kennis nodig; taalkundigen steunen op gedateerde documenten en geografische context; plaatselijke onderzoekers bewaren soms informatie die in administratieve bronnen ontbreekt. Een goed gedocumenteerd woordenboek laat die kennis samenkomen. Het gezag ervan berust op controleerbare gegevens die opnieuw onderzocht kunnen worden.

De Commissie brengt die zorgvuldigheid ook binnen in het openbaar bestuur. Haar richtlijnen gaan over straatnamen en namen van fusiegemeenten en bevelen aan om vroeg in het keuzeproces advies te vragen. Pelt, uit Neerpelt en Overpelt, illustreert hoe een gedeeld historisch naamelement behouden kan blijven. Daarbij is het onderscheid tussen adviseren en beslissen belangrijk: de Commissie geeft deskundig advies, maar bepaalt niet alle Belgische plaatsnamen. ^{14, 15}

De jubileumaankondiging noemt 1947, na het Tweede Internationale Congres voor Toponymie en Anthroponymie, als een belangrijke mijlpaal in de cartografische samenwerking. De institutionele chronologie verdient enige precisie: de partner behoorde toen tot de militaire voorgangers van het NGI. Het huidige Nationaal Geografisch Instituut werd opgericht op 8 juni 1976; zijn voorgeschiedenis gaat terug tot 1831. ^{1, 2}

Ook de internationale context is betekenisvol. Het tweede congres vond in 1947 plaats in Parijs; in 1949 ontstond tijdens het congres in Brussel de internationale naamkundige organisatie die we nu kennen als ICOS, met haar vroege centrum in Leuven. Dat zijn verbonden geschiedenissen, maar geen identieke instellingen. Ze tonen de plaats van België in de uitbouw van internationale samenwerking rond namenonderzoek. ¹⁶

Een hedendaags project maakt de waarde van de samenwerking bijzonder concreet. In 2024 startten het NGI en de Service public de Wallonie een project om waterloopnamen in hun gegevensbestanden op elkaar af te stemmen. Het combineert plaatselijk overleg, historische en cartografische documentatie en taalkundige toetsing door de Commissie. Het doel is elk riviersegment consequent te benoemen in de betrokken datasets. ¹⁷

Zo draagt ogenschijnlijk specialistisch onderzoek bij aan de infrastructuur van publieke informatie. Wanneer een plaats eenduidig wordt aangeduid, kunnen gegevens erover gemakkelijker met elkaar verbonden worden. De United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names, UNGEGN, verbindt standaardisering met betrouwbare cartografie, navigatie, administratie en gegevensintegratie, en moedigt tegelijk het respect voor plaatselijke talen en tradities aan. Wetenschappelijke zorgvuldigheid en praktische duidelijkheid kunnen elkaar versterken. ¹⁸

De digitale omgeving opent bijkomende mogelijkheden. Via Cartesius maken het NGI en erfgoedpartners historisch geografisch materiaal toegankelijk. Samen met hedendaagse kaarten en publicaties van de Commissie nodigen die bronnen uit om opeenvolgende voorstellingen van een gebied te vergelijken. Daarbij hoort ook een noodzakelijke vraag: wiens naamgebruik heeft een bepaalde kaart eigenlijk vastgelegd? ¹⁹

De mooiste hulde aan dit eeuwfeest is daarom het voortzetten van de werkwijzen die dit onderzoek betrouwbaar maken: geduldig verzamelen, bronnen kritisch lezen, uitspraakvormen ernstig nemen en plaatselijke kennis waarderen. Digitale hulpmiddelen vergroten de toegankelijkheid; ze kunnen op zichzelf niet bepalen of een etymologische verklaring klopt.

Honderd jaar KCTD verdient een viering omdat de Commissie namen tot een blijvend voorwerp van onderzoek en publieke zorg heeft gemaakt. Hulde aan de onderzoekers, plaatselijke informanten, redacteurs en cartografen die die continuïteit mogelijk maakten, en aan de nieuwe generaties die hun werk kritisch zullen verrijken en voortzetten.

De jubileumviering — Brussel, 17 oktober 2026

De academische zitting vindt plaats in het Paleis der Academiën, Hertogsstraat 1, Brussel, gevolgd door een receptie. De organisatoren kondigen het volgende programma aan:

• 10.00 uur — Deuren open.
• 10.15 uur — Introductie door Chris De Wulf, algemeen secretaris van de KCTD/CRTD.
• 10.30 uur — Introductie door Ingrid Vanden Berghe, administrateur-generaal van het NGI.
• 10.45 uur — Een terug- en vooruitblik, met Ann Marynissen en Jean Germain.
• 11.15 uur — Waternamen in Noordwest-Brussel, met Pierre van Nieuwenhuysen.
• 11.45 uur — Van nationale toponymie tot wereldwijde standaardisering: de rol van de UNGEGN, met Jeanne Henrion.
• 12.15 uur — Receptie en netwerkmoment.

De deelname is gratis. De aangekondigde inschrijvingsdeadline van 5 oktober 2026 is verstreken. Wie nog wil deelnemen, neemt het best contact op met de organisatoren om naar beschikbare plaatsen te informeren; een laattijdige inschrijving is niet bevestigd. ¹

Links and references

1.KCTD/CRTD — Een eeuw vol taal / Un siècle placé sous le signe de la langue (2026)

2.IGN/NGI — Institutional timeline: 1831–2026

3.KCTD — Geschiedenis

4.Jean Loicq — Toponymie ou science des noms de lieux

5.Jean Lechanteur — Jean Haust. Académie royale de langue et de littérature françaises de Belgique

6.Jules Herbillon (1968) — In memoriam. Henri Joseph Van de Wijer (1883–1968). Revue internationale d’onomastique, 20(4), 6–7

7.Bulletin de la Commission royale de toponymie et de dialectologie, I (1927) — review in Revue du Nord (1928)

8.Handelingen van de Koninklijke Commissie voor Toponymie en Dialectologie / Bulletin de la Commission royale de toponymie et de dialectologie — Ghent University open-access platform

9.Jan Grauls (1930) — Iets over de Hasseltsche voornamen. Handelingen, 4(1), 217–229

10.B. Frankinet (2021) — Mots et choses de Wallonie: Actualisation de la lexicographie dialectale de nos régions. Bulletin, 93(1), 349–390

11.Paul Kempeneers (2022) — Sprokkel 424: De Vlaamse gemeentenamen

12.KCTD — Activiteiten: De Vlaamse waternamen (2016; 2018)

13.KCTD/CRTD — Werken van de Waalse afdeling / Mémoires de la section wallonne: Loicq (2014); Germain (2020)

14.KCTD — Adviesverlening: straatnamen en fusiegemeenten

15.IGN (3 September 2026) — Le rôle de l’IGN dans la gestion des noms géographiques

16.International Council of Onomastic Sciences — Brève histoire

17.IGN — Rapport annuel 2024: Toponymie, mise en cohérence des hydronymes de Wallonie

18.United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names — About UNGEGN

19.IGN — Cartesius

Meet the NSSA Executive Committee, 2026–2030

The Names Society of Southern Africa (NSSA) has announced its Executive Committee for 2026–2030. Its eleven members bring together research on names and identity, African languages and literatures, oral history, language policy, translation technology and the social meanings of place. Representing institutions in South Africa, Eswatini and Zimbabwe, the committee reflects the regional and interdisciplinary character of Southern African onomastics.

For readers of e-Onomastics, the new committee offers an opportunity to explore the scholars behind the titles: where their academic journeys began, which questions have shaped their work, and how their expertise connects with the study of names. The appointments below follow the NSSA announcement supplied for this introduction; the profiles draw on university biographies, thesis repositories, publishers and research publications.

Announcement: NSSA on Facebook.

President — Prof. Tebogo J. Rakgogo

Tshwane University of Technology (TUT), South Africa

Tebogo Jacob Rakgogo’s academic development connects language practice with a sustained investigation of the power carried by language names. He completed a National Diploma, BTech and master’s degree in Language Practice at TUT, alongside further qualifications in education and translation at UNISA. In 2019, he completed his doctorate in onomastics at the University of the Witwatersrand.

His doctoral research examined the principles behind naming an official language, concentrating on the competing designations Sepedi and Sesotho sa Leboa/Northern Sotho. This question has continued through publications on constitutional terminology, linguistic identity and the relationship between language and dialect. His 2024 article on the naming controversy approaches it through forensic linguistics, bringing legislation and institutional responsibility into the discussion.

Rakgogo’s wider interests include sociolinguistics, dialectology, historiography, language policy and planning, and language and law. His work has also involved language bodies and terminology policy. Together, these activities connect scholarly analysis with the institutions through which languages acquire recognition and authority.

Sources: Universities South Africa biography; 2024 article and author biography.

Editor-in-Chief — Prof. Sambulo Ndlovu

University of Eswatini (UNESWA), Eswatini

Sambulo Ndlovu’s career places African onomastics in conversation with sociolinguistics, linguistic anthropology and cultural studies. He holds a PhD in linguistics from the University of Cape Town. His academic trajectory includes Great Zimbabwe University and Humboldt research fellowships at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. A recent scholarly biography identifies him as an Associate Professor at UNESWA and a Research Associate at UNISA.

As Editor-in-Chief of Nomina Africana, he occupies a central position in the publication of research on African names. His book Naming and Othering in Africa: Imagining Supremacy and Inferiority through Language examines how naming can produce exclusion and unequal social relations. His work on Zimbabwean renaming similarly asks whether replacing names actually changes the hierarchies embedded in public space.

His interests also extend to African youth languages and morphosyntactic variation. Across these fields, a recurring concern is what language does socially: how it establishes belonging, marks difference and makes claims to authority.

Sources: UFS keynote biography; Routledge book; study of Zimbabwean renaming.

Deputy President — Dr Chrismi-Rinda Loth

University of the Free State (UFS), South Africa

Chrismi-Rinda Loth’s research follows the relationship between language policy, public space and the visibility of communities. Her 2016 doctorate at UFS, supervised by Theodorus du Plessis, investigated the linguistic landscape of post-apartheid rural South Africa. It addressed an important imbalance in the field: the tendency to study urban signage while paying less attention to rural multilingual environments.

Her subsequent work brings place-name research into South African Sign Language and Deaf Studies. UFS identifies her among the researchers responsible for the Survey of South African Sign Language Place Names, the related project on technological development using place names, and the OurPlaces application.

This trajectory moves from the languages visible in public space to forms of geographical knowledge expressed through signing. It also highlights why signed place names deserve investigation in their own right, rather than being treated simply as translations of written names. A co-authored 2025 article on ethical access to Deaf communities adds an important methodological dimension to this work.

Sources: doctoral dissertation announcement; UFS OurPlaces project; research ethics article.

Secretary-General — Dr Yanga L. P. Myataza, formerly Majola

Tshwane University of Technology (TUT), South Africa

Published earlier under the name Yanga L. P. Majola, Myataza has developed a research programme around language recognition, minority varieties and cultural identity. His training began with qualifications in Language Practice at TUT. His 2018 master’s dissertation, completed with distinction, considered the case for using isiBhaca as a medium of instruction in Umzimkhulu.

His 2021 Wits doctoral thesis extended this enquiry to language maintenance and shift among amaBhaca raised in the same region. It examined how the institutional prominence of isiZulu and isiXhosa affects isiBhaca speakers’ linguistic choices and sense of identity.

The NSSA’s biographical record also documents teaching at the Central University of Technology before his work at TUT, alongside interests in dialectology, onomastics, multilingualism, translation and computational linguistics. His academic path illustrates the close connection between questions of linguistic classification and the everyday consequences of recognising—or overlooking—a community’s own language.

Sources: supervisor’s record of the master’s dissertation; Wits doctoral thesis; NSSA biographical profile under Majola.

Deputy Secretary-General — Dr Lorato Mokwena

University of South Africa (UNISA), South Africa

Lorato Mokwena is a Senior Lecturer in Linguistics at UNISA whose research centres on social semiotics, rural linguistic landscapes, oral naming practices and indigenous knowledge. Her academic training at the University of the Western Cape progressed from undergraduate and honours study to a master’s project on identities constructed in online discussion, followed by doctoral research on two rural district municipalities in the Northern Cape.

That progression—from digital discourse to rural environments—retains a common question: how do people make identities and places meaningful through the resources available to them? Her work draws attention to oral directions and locally created street names, expanding linguistic-landscape research beyond written signs.

She is the author of Orania: Post-Apartheid South Africa’s Bogeyman? and a co-editor of The Routledge Handbook of Language and the Global South/s. Her public scholarship includes the Dit is ’n Noord-Kaap ding colloquium and the documentary The Broken String, connecting research with Northern Cape communities and their histories.

Sources: author biography; UWC academic background; research overview; doctoral repository record.

Treasurer-General — Dr Lehlohonolo V. Motake

Central University of Technology, Free State (CUT), South Africa

Lehlohonolo Victor Motake’s expertise lies in translation, translation technology, terminology development and the use of Sesotho in teaching and learning. CUT records distinction-level achievement in his National Diploma, BTech and master’s qualification in Language Practice, followed by a doctorate.

His doctoral research at TUT, recorded by his co-supervisor in 2020, examined students’ and lecturers’ attitudes towards computer-aided translation tools. This provides a clear link between his academic formation and his continuing concern with the practical infrastructure of multilingualism.

At CUT, he serves as Deputy Director in the university’s language-services structure, described in recent reports as the Language Development and Support Unit. University reports document his involvement in multilingual writing initiatives, literacy activities and efforts to strengthen indigenous languages as languages of scholarship. His contribution to the committee therefore includes experience with the practical work needed to make language inclusion effective in higher education.

Sources: CUT staff profile; doctoral supervision record; CUT multilingual research initiative; CUT language and literacy activities.

Deputy Treasurer — Dr Thato Monyakane

University of South Africa (UNISA), South Africa

Thato Mabolaeng Monyakane is a Senior Lecturer in UNISA’s Department of African Languages, specialising in Sesotho, literature and education. Her qualifications connect the National University of Lesotho, the University of the Free State and UNISA, where her 2016 doctoral thesis investigated cultural, social and political relationships among the Bafokeng, Bakuena and Bataung lineages across Sotho groups.

Her research encompasses both oral and modern African literature. Publications on N. M. Khaketla examine the relationship between African and Western perspectives and the writer’s pioneering contribution to women’s authorship in Sesotho. Her university profile also records work on Sesotho idioms, folktales and terminology in technology.

Her connection with onomastics is explicit in a 2018 conference presentation on the continued use of African and traditional place names alongside modern alternatives. Her work thus brings literary interpretation, lineage histories and everyday naming practices into a shared discussion of cultural continuity.

Sources: UNISA staff biography and publications; doctoral thesis; article on N. M. Khaketla.

Marketing and Communications — Dr Mandla Mathebula

Gauteng Geographical Names Committee (GGNC), South Africa

Mandla Mathebula connects historical research with the public processes through which places receive and change their names. His 2018 PhD in History at the University of Limpopo investigated the genealogy and migration of the va ka Valoyi of Limpopo. Drawing on oral testimony and documentary sources, the study reconstructed relationships among twenty communities and explored their connections with earlier Southern African dynasties.

His publications include 800 Years of Tsonga History and The Backroom Boy: Andrew Mlangeni’s Story. His scholarly articles also address migration, lineage and historical reconstruction, including the Valoyi’s relationship with the Changamire tradition.

His documented participation in the GGNC’s work places this historical expertise within contemporary heritage debates. For onomastics, his trajectory is particularly relevant: oral history and genealogy can illuminate the people, memories and claims attached to a geographical name, while public consultation reveals how those meanings are negotiated today.

Sources: University of Limpopo doctoral thesis; publisher’s author profile; Valoyi research article; report on GGNC consultation.

Events and Coordination — Dr Gcinile Dlamini

University of Eswatini (UNESWA), Eswatini

Gcinile Dlamini’s available research record points towards applied linguistics, Swati–English language contact and the description of English as used in Eswatini. Academic records under the fuller name Thulisile Gcinile Dlamini include a postgraduate teaching qualification from the University of Swaziland and an MPhil from Stellenbosch University, followed by a doctorate at Rhodes University.

Rhodes’s October 2025 graduation programme records her doctoral study of vowel epenthesis in syllable structures containing syllabic consonants in Swati English, supervised by William Bennett. The research examines pronunciation patterns in a setting where speakers’ linguistic resources cross the boundaries between Swati and English.

A co-authored study of how aspects of Swati grammar affect university students’ understanding of English noun phrases adds a pedagogical strand to this profile. These documented interests contribute expertise in language structure, contact and learning to a committee whose work ranges across the linguistic and social dimensions of naming.

Sources: Rhodes doctoral repository record; Rhodes graduation programme, October 2025; Swati grammar and English noun phrases.

Resource Mobilisation — Dr Jackson Sebola

University of Pretoria (UP), South Africa

Jackson Sebola, who also publishes as Jackson Sebola-Samanyanga, approaches names through planning, development, land and identity. His academic background includes a master’s degree in Town and Regional Planning and a PhD in Development Studies. His professional experience spans private practice, public institutions and academia.

The African Research Universities Alliance describes his work as an investigation of colonial planning legacies and the relationship between statutory and traditional governance. His research treats place as something lived, remembered and politically contested, rather than merely a location on a map. His ARUA fellowship profile links him with Makerere University’s Centre of Excellence in Notions of Identity and a project on land, identity and belonging in rural South Africa.

His 2026 Nomina Africana article on African toponyms in the Venḓa region makes the connection with onomastics explicit. It brings an ethnopragmatic perspective to geographical names, linking their interpretation with communities’ situated knowledge and experience of place.

Sources: ARUA research profile; UP staff listing; Nomina Africana article.

Resource Mobilisation — Prof. Advice Viriri

Midlands State University (MSU), Zimbabwe

Advice Viriri brings a background in African languages, literary scholarship and university leadership. His 2013 UNISA doctoral thesis examined the representation of the pungwe, or night vigil, in selected Shona novels and songs. Drawing on Bakhtin’s concept of the carnivalesque, it explored the relationship between oral performance, political resistance and the multiple voices of Zimbabwe’s liberation history.

His broader publication record includes Shona lexicography, indigenous knowledge and debates about the colonial inheritance of African scholarship. His article on missionaries’ contribution to Shona lexicography examines an especially important issue for language history: the ways dictionaries and standardisation emerge within unequal cultural and political relationships.

MSU reports document his service as Director of the Zvishavane Campus and participation in institutional partnerships. His research and leadership experience add a literary and historical perspective to the committee, as well as experience of cooperation across institutional boundaries.

Sources: UNISA doctoral thesis; Shona lexicography article; MSU campus leadership; MSU institutional collaboration.

A regional community of complementary expertise

Read together, these academic journeys show why names benefit from more than one disciplinary perspective. A language name can be a constitutional question; a place name can preserve oral history, express belonging or become the subject of public negotiation. Names also circulate through literature, digital resources, classrooms and signed communication.

The committee’s combined expertise provides a broad intellectual foundation for the NSSA’s 2026–2030 term. These connections describe the research represented by its members, rather than a formally announced programme of activities. We congratulate the new Executive Committee and look forward to following its contribution to onomastic scholarship in Southern Africa and beyond.