Anglisisation on the IOC (1 Viewer)

[Andy Adcock]

Anglicisation on the IOC

As a non professional in these matters, I was interested to find the written guidelines and rationale of the IOC regarding names and I copy here, what they say about non English names.

Re the highlighted part, can someone explain to me, what was done to Anglicise e.g Kakawahie, Ula-ai-hawane, Poo-Uli or Akohekohe etc or do they fall under the first, short paragraph?

Following recent debate on this forum, this makes clear, such decisions as the rejection of Ocatero as a new name for Olive Warbler.

I'm simply curious, not trying to start any arguments.


'3. USE OF NONENGLISH WORDS: Non-English words that have been in common use for a substantial time have in effect become “English.”

Usage would govern. The established names of many birds use their taxonomic name from another language. Just because a bird’s long-standing name was in fact its taxonomic name, it did not have to be changed to an English word. Thus names like Junco, Vireo, and Rhea have been retained. This is of particular significance in names of tropical birds, many of which are the taxon’s generic names (e.g., Elaenia , Jacana , Dacnis , Attila , Myzomela ). The committee rejected the idea of a wholesale renaming of these taxa, while recognizing that ongoing revisions of bird genera will continue to create odd mismatches.The committee likewise accepted a large number of Spanish words on the basis of long usage (e.g., Doradito, Monjita, Tapaculo) and even a number of Amerindian ones (e.g., Quetzal, Cacique). These latter two names are now in such wide usage that they appear in the Oxford English Dictionary.The most troublesome question was whether to adopt Hawaiian-language names for endemic Hawaiian birds. The spelling of those names with generally unfamiliar accent marks made this an even closer call. In the end the committee decided to follow such authorities as the New York Times Atlas of the World (for country names that are included in a species name), AOU Checklist (7th ed.), and others, and to use anglicized versions of Hawaiian bird names and other established non-English names.

Here's the full page for those interested.

https://www.worldbirdnames.org/english-names/principles/

 

[Jim LeNomenclatoriste]

I always wondered who was in charge of the vernacular names in each language on IOC, especially french. Because, many subspecies don't have a vernacular name so how does it happen during a split, who decides on the attribution of a name?

 

[Peter Kovalik]

I always wondered who was in charge of the vernacular names in each language on IOC, especially french. Because, many subspecies don't have a vernacular name so how does it happen during a split, who decides on the attribution of a name?

Michel Gosselin and Normand David are authors of most of new French bird names. They are both members of the original Commission internationale des noms français des oiseaux, and were advisors for the French names in the recently published Handbook of the Birds of the World (del Hoyo & al.).

 

[Dave Boyle]

Re the highlighted part, can someone explain to me, what was done to Anglicise e.g Kakawahie, Ula-ai-hawane, Poo-Uli or Akohekohe etc or do they fall under the first, short paragraph?https://www.worldbirdnames.org/english-names/principles/

Hi Andy, if I understand your question correctly the spelling has been anglicised by taking out what I guess are 'letters' not in our alphabet, so there should be lots of okinas, which look like apostrophes but put a little pause in a word and macrons on letters that alter how they are pronounced - so they've been anglicised by making the spelling simpler

 

[Andy Adcock]

Hi Andy, if I understand your question correctly the spelling has been anglicised by taking out what I guess are 'letters' not in our alphabet, so there should be lots of okinas, which look like apostrophes but put a little pause in a word and macrons on letters that alter how they are pronounced - so they've been anglicised by making the spelling simpler

Thanks Dave,
that's what I wanted to know although to me, 'anglicisation' would involve some actual translation of the names where possible?

 

[Mysticete]

As a non professional in these matters, I was interested to find the written guidelines and rationale of the IOC regarding names and I copy here, what they say about non English names.

Re the highlighted part, can someone explain to me, what was done to Anglicise e.g Kakawahie, Ula-ai-hawane, Poo-Uli or Akohekohe etc or do they fall under the first, short paragraph?

Following recent debate on this forum, this makes clear, such decisions as the rejection of Ocatero as a new name for Olive Warbler.

I'm simply curious, not trying to start any arguments.


'3. USE OF NONENGLISH WORDS: Non-English words that have been in common use for a substantial time have in effect become “English.”

Usage would govern. The established names of many birds use their taxonomic name from another language. Just because a bird’s long-standing name was in fact its taxonomic name, it did not have to be changed to an English word. Thus names like Junco, Vireo, and Rhea have been retained. This is of particular significance in names of tropical birds, many of which are the taxon’s generic names (e.g., Elaenia , Jacana , Dacnis , Attila , Myzomela ). The committee rejected the idea of a wholesale renaming of these taxa, while recognizing that ongoing revisions of bird genera will continue to create odd mismatches.The committee likewise accepted a large number of Spanish words on the basis of long usage (e.g., Doradito, Monjita, Tapaculo) and even a number of Amerindian ones (e.g., Quetzal, Cacique). These latter two names are now in such wide usage that they appear in the Oxford English Dictionary.The most troublesome question was whether to adopt Hawaiian-language names for endemic Hawaiian birds. The spelling of those names with generally unfamiliar accent marks made this an even closer call. In the end the committee decided to follow such authorities as the New York Times Atlas of the World (for country names that are included in a species name), AOU Checklist (7th ed.), and others, and to use anglicized versions of Hawaiian bird names and other established non-English names.

Here's the full page for those interested.

https://www.worldbirdnames.org/english-names/principles/

Honestly, in the case where a species resides solely or nearly solely within the domain of a regional English-language using checklist authority, they should just adopt wholesale whatever name is used by that committee. They really need to only arbitrate when a species has a much wider distribution or there is no other authority to turn towards.