China has censored all online references to the beetle species named after the country’s president, Xi Jinping. This comes as a disappointment to the scientist who discovered and named it.
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American Name Society Summer Newsletter
The American Name Society is pleased to share the ANS 2016 Summer Newsletter.
Please consider becoming a member to receive more news updates.
Dancing peacock spider named after accomplished dancer
A new species of spider was recently discovered by Queensland Museum scientist Dr Barbara Baehr. She named the spider the maratus lincunxin in honor of Queensland Ballet artistic director Li Cunxin.
Where the streets have new names: the airbrush politics of renaming roads
Should we name streets after controversial people? What do these names say about a city’s identity?
Participate in an ANS Session on American Toponymy at the American Association of Geographers 2017 Annual Conference
The American Association of Geographers will be holdings its annual conference in the Boston, MA, from the 5th to the 9th of April, 2017. To further encourage ties between the onomastics and geography communities, an ANS session on contemporary US American toponymy is being proposed for the 2017 AAG conference.
If you are interested in being a part of this collaborative session, please send your name, affiliation, and a 400 word abstract (not including a bibliography) as a word document to Dr. I. M. Nick [mavi.yaz@web.de] by September 20, 2016. For processing ease, please be sure to include the phrase “ANS-GEO” in the subject line of your submission.
Trains to Correctly Pronounce Māori Place Names
Wellington trains haven’t been accurately pronouncing Māori place names. But now the Greater Wellington Regional Council is updating the recording for the automated announcements to reflect the correct pronunciation of in te reo Māori [the Māori language].
Call for Papers: The Journal of Urban Studies Special Issue on Naming
The journal of Urban Studies is planning a special issue on “Naming Rights and the Cultural Landscapes of Neoliberal Urbanism.” The purpose of this issue is to critically examine the use of naming rights as a spatial strategy of neoliberal urbanism.
Authors interested in contributing to this publication are invited to submit a 200-word abstract to [redwood@uvic.ca] by August 15, 2016.
Proposals which address one of the following themes are particularly encouraged:
- political struggles over the planning, adoption, and implementation of urban naming rights policies, programs, or agreements
- economic outcomes of urban naming rights programs in cities of varying sizes
- the cultural reception of commodified place names in everyday speech and the spatial imaginaries of everyday urban life
- the relationship between urban naming rights and broader processes of neoliberal urbanization.
In-depth case studies and comparative urban analyses are equally welcome.
Updated Information: ANS Panel at the Modern Language Association Conference
More information is now available about the ANS Panel at the Modern Language Association Conference, January 5-8th, 2017 in Philadelphia, PA.
The American Name Society will be holding a special panel under the theme of “Names and Multilingualism.” Multilingual and multicultural communities have been developed since the ancient world. The linguistic and cultural contacts within these communities have attracted the interest of a broad range of disciplines, where in some cases different strands have emerged.
For panelist abstracts and bios see Names and Multilingualism Information.
The Disney Princess Effect On Baby Names
Would you ever name your daughter Cinderella? What about Elsa? Tiana? Ariel?
Maybe you weren’t influenced by Disney while you were looking for your baby girl’s first name, but according to an article appearing in the Huffington Post, a lot of US Americans have been. Using data from the Social Security Administration, writers Jan Diehm and Alissa Scheller explore the Disney Princess effect on girls’ names in the United States.
The internet contest for re-naming Robert E. Lee Elementary
What is harder than getting rid of an old name that irritates a LOT of people? Finding a new name that does not tick-off even more people. A group of wishful re-namers in Austin, Texas, recently learned this lesson.
In hopes of finding a new moniker for their local elementary school, “Robert E. Lee Elementary,” school officials started an internet naming contest. The result was abysmal. Not only was participation surprisingly low, but the name suggestions ranged from disappointing to downright shocking. Among the top ten names suggested was, for example, the “Adolf Hitler School for Friendship and Tolerance.”
Interested in knowing what name made the top spot among the school’s onomastic nominees? Here is a wee hint: it was not Democratic hopeful “The Hillary R. Clinton Elementary School.” “Schoolie McSchoolface” also made the list of nominees…but it was not the number one choice. Find out the top nominee.