Foreign Place Name Translation Manual - Medium Size

Author: Zhou Dingguo, Editor-in-Chief
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2003-07-01
Features: To achieve the unification and standardization of the Chinese translation of foreign place names and gradually eliminate the confusion in their translations in society, following the publication of the "Handbook of Translations of Foreign Place Names," we have successively compiled the "Handbook of Translations of American Place Names," "Handbook of Translations of Federal German Place Names," and "Handbook of Translations of Soviet Place Names," all published by the Commercial Press. The "Handbook of Translations of Foreign Place Names" published in 1983 played a positive role in standardizing the Chinese translations of names of important geographical entities and towns abroad. However, due to its limited entries (over 17,000), it could not fully meet societal needs. To adapt to the "open-up" policy, we compiled this medium-sized "Handbook of Translations of Foreign Place Names" with over 95,000 entries, as a standardized reference for foreign place names for use by relevant parties in society. Due to the inclusion of place names from countries and regions other than China, and the complexity of the language issues involved, some inaccuracies may exist in the translations of foreign place names. We welcome readers to provide valuable feedback for revisions in future editions. This handbook compiles over 95,000 foreign place names, including names of countries (regions), capitals (administrative centers), first-level administrative divisions of various countries, important settlements, and names of natural geographical entities. It also includes some historical place names. Each entry consists of four components: Roman alphabet spelling, Chinese translation, geographical location, and geographic coordinates. This handbook is intended for use by professionals in foreign affairs, national defense, public security, transportation, postal and telecommunications, foreign trade, press and publication, education, science and technology, cartography, and translation.
II. The translation of place names in this handbook follows the "General Principles for the Chinese Translation of Foreign Place Names" formulated by the Chinese Name Commission for Geographical Names, as well as romanization tables for more than 50 languages, including English, French, German, Russian, Spanish, and Arabic. The translations of place names in the "Handbook of Translations of Foreign Place Names," "Handbook of Translations of American Place Names," "Handbook of Translations of Federal German Place Names," and "Handbook of Translations of Soviet Place Names," as well as those approved by the Chinese Name Commission for Geographical Names in the "World Gazetteer," are generally retained, with minor corrections to individual names.
III. For the world place names collected in this handbook, those in countries where Roman alphabet is the official script (including generic names) are presented in their official spellings. For countries where non-Roman scripts are used, official transliterations are adopted. Where no official transliteration exists, internationally accepted Roman alphabet transliterations are used.