Endonym

Endonym is a category of geographical names that arises under the aspect of the spatial relationship between the human community using the name and the geographical feature denoted by that name. An endonym, under this aspcet, is the geographical name accepted and used by the local community (the name "from within") as opposed to the exonym, the geographical name not used by the local community (the name "from without ’) and differing from the endonym. The aspect mentioned is a sociological and geographical (spatial) one that corresponds to two basic human attitudes: (1) to distinguish between “mine” and “yours”, “ours” and “theirs”; (2) territoriality, the need for one's own space/place, expressed at all levels of human activity and community building. This aspect therefore always has a social, political and legal significance and is therefore politically sensitive and often the cause of political conflicts.

Collections of concepts for the Cartographic Body of Knowledge (CartoBoK)

To make the basis for a Cartographic Body of Knowledge, the ICA Commissions have contributed with keywords related to their field of interest (see: bok.cartography.no). The next steps are to collect more details about concept connected to the commissions. You are herby invited to describe concepts for the CatoBoK in this form.

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• endonym

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• geographical name accepted and used by the local community.

Give an introduction to the concept

• Endonym is a category of geographical names that arises under the aspect of the spatial relationship between the human community using the name and the geographical feature denoted by that name. An endonym, under this aspcet, is the geographical name accepted and used by the local community (the name "from within") as opposed to the exonym, the geographical name not used by the local community (the name "from without ’) and differing from the endonym. The aspect mentioned is a sociological and geographical (spatial) one that corresponds to two basic human attitudes: (1) to distinguish between “mine” and “yours”, “ours” and “theirs”; (2) territoriality, the need for one's own space/place, expressed at all levels of human activity and community building. This aspect therefore always has a social, political and legal significance and is therefore politically sensitive and often the cause of political conflicts.

Give a closer explanation of the concept

• Endonyms denote geographical features that are inhabited by a local community, are located on its territory or with which a particular community has entered into a more intense relationship than other communities. The English name North Sea would still be an endonym in the British coastal waters, but no longer outside. There are no endonyms in Antarctica and for the open sea as there is no local community established there. For larger spatial concepts such as countries or continents, the names of all local communities inhabited by them are endonyms. For example, the name for Germany would be an endonym in the languages of all long-established local communities, including, for example, the Sorbs, Danes and Frisians. The name for the Earth is an endonym in all languages of the world. Endonym quality is independent of the name's language and official status. Pizzeria Vesuvio is an endonym for a restaurant in an English city if the name is so accepted and used by the owner, by the guests and in the neighborhood. The name Litzmannstadt for the Polish Łódź, decreed by the German occupation in World War II, was not an endonym because it did not correspond to the local usage (not even that of the German inhabitants of the city). A geographical feature can (like Koper/Capodistria) have more than one endonym, if it has several local communities (as in this case also the Italian minority) or (like a mountain range or a river) crosses the borders between local communities. A multitude of endonyms can also result from different names in the different language layers (standard language, colloquial language, dialect) and forms of expression (officially correct, shortened, ironic) of a local community. Endonyms may or may not be standardized, i.e. approved by the responsible authorities. A name for a geographical feature cannot be an endonym and an exonym at the same time in a given place and in the area of a given local community. However, outside of this place and this community, the same name for this feature can become an exonym. Thus the name Danube is an endonym for this river in the area of the German-speaking community, but becomes an exonym outside, although it designates the whole river up to its mouth. The term endonym presented here corresponds to the usual usage, encompasses all possible cases and is not defined for a specific purpose, although for the latter reason it differs in nuances from other, but purpose-specific definitions. For example, the glossary of the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names (UNGEGN), established to develop rules for the standardization of geographical names, defines the endonym as “the name of a geographical feature in a language that is officially spoken in the area of the feature or is well established. Examples: Vārānasī (not Benares); Aachen (not Aix la Chapelle); Krung Thep (not Bangkok); Al-Uqşur (not Luxor). The International Council of Onomastic Sciences (ICOS) Glossary defines the endonym as “the name of a geographical feature in a language that is official or well-established in the area of the feature. – e.g. Venezia in Italy (not Venice), Praha in the Czech Republic (not Prague).

Österreich (versus the English exonym Austria), Roma (versus the English exonym Rome), Türkyie (versus the English exonym Turkey), Székesfehérvár, Fehérvár, Koper/Capodistria, Globasnitz/Globasnica