• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

AOU-NACC Proposals 2019 (1 Viewer)

It saddens me to observe that the AOS has chosen to enter the lists of political correctness and ponder "potentially offensive eponyms and other names." If they wage war against supposed slavers, imperialists, colonialists, and genocidal regimes they will have opened Pandora's box. Do they propose to rename all those birds of the Americas which may have links to the Spanish conquistadores or to the historically aggressive US Republic which resulted in the extinction or subjugation of numerous indigenous peoples? I plead with them to concentrate on ornithology, embrace their history, and celebrate the future.
 
James Jobling said:
It saddens me to observe that the AOS has chosen to enter the lists of political correctness and ponder "potentially offensive eponyms and other names."...
Click to expand...

I dislike patronyms/honorifics for the reasons already outlined - they usually tell us nothing relatable or useful about the species. Some bird groups are plagued with uninformative English names - pheasants, turacos, storm petrels immediately come to mind.

However much de-colonisation of language is needed, I agree that addressing every dodgy Victorian who had a bird named after them is going to be problematic... but, it's definitely way past time that something was done about the two Hottentots - Buttonquail/Teal.

The buttonquail is easy - Fynbos Buttonquail - but what would be a good name for the duck?
 
Last edited:
andrew147 said:
I dislike patronyms/honorifics for the reasons already outlined - they usually tell us nothing relatable or useful about the species. Some bird groups are plagued with uninformative English names - pheasants, turacos, storm petrels immediately come to mind.

However much de-colonisation of language is needed, I agree that addressing every dodgy Victorian who had a bird named after them is going to be problematic... but, it's definitely way past time that something was done about the two Hottentots - Buttonquail/Teal.

The buttonquail is easy - Fynbos Buttonquail - but what would be a good name for the duck?
Click to expand...

Khoi or Khoisan is the non-offensive way of saying the same thing - but as is obvious, naming a bird after a group of people can be just as problematic as after a single person.

Its synonym is "punctata" so maybe Black-spotted Teal?
 
Kirk Roth said:
Khoi or Khoisan is the non-offensive way of saying the same thing - but as is obvious, naming a bird after a group of people can be just as problematic as after a single person.

Its synonym is "punctata" so maybe Black-spotted Teal?
Click to expand...

I like Khoisan Teal, it's unique and offers some poetic justice.
 
Last edited:
jurek said:
And maybe follow what South Africans did? That is, nothing.
Click to expand...

Well, in terms of redressing racial injustice in South Africa, I expect that re-naming birds is quite far down the list of priorities. Hopefully they'll get round to it.
 
Last edited:
I would rather have a species named for a person than to have species no 26 that is yellow-something Tyrant/tyrannulet/etc

Niels
 
Kirk Roth said:
Khoi or Khoisan is the non-offensive way of saying the same thing - but as is obvious, naming a bird after a group of people can be just as problematic as after a single person.

Its synonym is "punctata" so maybe Black-spotted Teal?
Click to expand...

And we're back using foreign words again.

Khoisan /ˈkɔɪsɑːn/, or according to the contemporary Khoekhoegowab orthography Khoe-Sān (pronounced: [kxʰoesaːn]), is a catch-all term for the "non-Bantu" indigenous peoples of Southern Africa, combining the Khoekhoen (formerly "Khoikhoi") and the Sān or Sākhoen (also, in Afrikaans: Boesmans, or in English: Bushmen, ...

Hottentot is shown to have two meanings, why assume that the derogatory one is in action?

From Wiki 'both an ethnic term and a term of abuse'.
 
Last edited:
Then follow what people elsewhere in Africa did - nothing, too.

andrew147 said:
Well, in terms of redressing racial injustice in South Africa, I expect that re-naming birds is quite far down the list of priorities. Hopefully they'll get round to it.
Click to expand...

Because, in Africa and anywhere, people who really are oppressed don't care about words but facts. Political correctness in language is at best a distraction, at worst a replacement.
 
jurek said:
Then follow what people elsewhere in Africa did - nothing, too.



Because, in Africa and anywhere, people who really are oppressed don't care about words but facts. Political correctness in language is at best a distraction, at worst a replacement.
Click to expand...

Agree.

If names are to be replaced, use an English translation rather than a patronising, non English word that doesn't mean anything to anybody who will use the list.
 
andyadcock said:
Agree.

If names are to be replaced, use an English translation rather than a patronising, non English word that doesn't mean anything to anybody who will use the list.
Click to expand...
Actually, I'm more familiar with the word Khoisan and what it means, than I am with hot & tot, which (other than part of the name of a duck) doesn't really mean anything to me - and is also a non-English word originally ;)
 
Nutcracker said:
Actually, I'm more familiar with the word Khoisan and what it means, than I am with hot & tot, which (other than part of the name of a duck) doesn't really mean anything to me - and is also a non-English word originally ;)
Click to expand...

Where did I suggest that it was an English word?

I was speaking generally and I'm sure you're in a small minority of people who have heard the word 'Khoisan' let alone, what it means.
 
Feels like the renaming of common names of birds when they refer to obviously offensive language or refer back to folks who weren't terribly great people is (literally) the least we can do. Why are so many people up in arms over the names of birds that aren't even remotely native to your country?
 
Warning! This thread is more than 3 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.

Similar threads

G
AOU-NACC Proposals 2024
2 3
Replies
42
Views
4K
l_raty
l_raty
Peter Kovalik
AOU-NACC Proposals 2023
2
Replies
39
Views
7K
Mysticete
Mysticete
J
Birding Asia Taxonomy
2
Replies
29
Views
3K
Andy Adcock
Andy Adcock
Peter Kovalik
AOU-NACC Proposals 2022
5 6 7
Replies
130
Views
20K
Mysticete
Mysticete
Peter Kovalik
AOU-NACC Proposals 2021
6 7 8
Replies
153
Views
20K
l_raty
l_raty

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Back
Top