2 messages.--------------------Johnnie ---------------------------------------------------------- >Date: Fri, 30 Jan 1998 17:07:00 +0000 >From: Darius Bartlett <[log in to unmask]> >Subject: Re: sheepshit A brief comment from the other side of the Atlantic, regarding strange names on maps.... In the Irish language, the word (or one of the words) for a "road" is "Bothar". A couple of years ago, I was invited to review the new 6th Edition of the Ordnance Survey of Ireland 1:15,000 street map of Cork City, for the review section of Irish Geography (the journal of the Geographical Society of Ireland). Now, most Irish maps of recent times tend to have a somewhat eclectic mixture of English-language and Irish-language place names on them. There may well be a system of logic that determines which of the two languages are used where on a particular map, and which features are in English, Irish or (in some cases both) on any given map sheet, but this logic has so far eluded me. In the case of the map I was reviewing, I noted that several of the street names, which had been in English in earlier editions of the map, had been rendered "as gaeilge" (in Irish) on the new version. One street was particularly interesting: at one end, it was labelled "Bothar O Conghaile" (i.e. Connolly Street); while, in two other sections this had become "BOTHER O'Conghaile" (my capitals). I never did work out was this an accidental mis-spelling, or was it (as I asked in the original review) a "crie de coeur from an over-stressed Survey cartographer"? :-) Darius *************************************************************************** Darius Bartlett Darius Bartlett Department of Geography Roinn na Tireolaiochta University College Cork Colaste na hOllscoile Corcaigh Cork, Ireland Corcaigh, Eire Phone: (+353) 21 902835 Fax: (+353) 21 271980 Mobile (in Ireland): 086 8238043 Mobile (from abroad): (+353) 86 8238043 E-mail: [log in to unmask] Web URL: http://www.ucc.ie/ucc/depts/geography/djb --------------------------------------------------------------------------- This message was transmitted using 100% recycled electrons.... *************************************************************************** ------------------------------------------------------------- >Date: Fri, 30 Jan 1998 17:02:08 +0000 >From: [log in to unmask] >Subject: re: KOFAs and sheepshit Bill Bryson's book 'Made in America' (widely available here in the UK, I presume its published in the States?) contains a highly entertaining chapter on the brutally descriptive and/or indiscrete place-names originally assigned by the pioneers on their way west. Anyone possessing a BGN gazetteer of Australia and a spare minute or two could do worse than to flick through it for some cheap entertainment! A considerable array of similarly indiscrete pioneer's place/feature names graces its pages.... Simon G Roberts (George Philip Ltd) [log in to unmask]