Overview of Hungarian research in the standardization of undersea feature names

Mátyás MÁRTON – Gábor GERCSÁK

Eötvös Loránd University

Budapest, Hungary

23 May 2008

Department of Cartography and Geoinformatics

Major points of the paper

• Beginnings in Hungary

• Research team at the university

• Research philosophy

• Research topics

• Papers and publications

• Cooperation with publishers

• Plans and visions

Landlocked Hungary

L. Balaton

Danube

Dan

ub

e

Budapest

Beginnings in Hungary

• Participation in the UN conferences on geographical names (1970s)

• Opening international opportunities

• Initiative to standardize the undersea feature names in Hungarian (1979)

• Hungarian delegate in the Commission on Marine Cartography of the ICA (1989)

Research team on geographical names

• Coordinator: Assoc. Prof. M. MÁRTON, Habil.

• Team: cartographer, geographer, geophysicist, linguist

• Three members in the Hungarian Commission on Geographical Names

• Teaching committments

• Undergraduate research programmes

Research philosophy

• Hungary: landlocked since 1920• Responsibility of cartographers in making

schoolbooks, atlases or scientific papers• Inter-disciplinary and international approach• Respect of the linguistic, geographic and

cartographic traditions of Hungary• Contracts with publishers• International relations• Beautiful Hungarian Map competition

Research topic I: generic terms

Research topic II: specific terms

Chapter 8: Origin of the names of undersea features

001 Alpha-hátság002 Amerázsiai-nagymedence003 Amundsen-hasadék, -medence004 Anabar-Hatanga-selfvölgy005 Angara-medence006 Arktikus -> Északi-sarki007 Arlis-fenékvölgy, -selfnyúlvány, -plató008 Barents-fenéksíkság, -hasadék, -lejtő, -plató (Központi-),-self, -teknővölgy009 Barrow-kanyon, -selfvölgy, -szurdok010 Beal-fenékhegy011 Beaufort-lejtő, -self, -terasz012 Bellsundi-pad, -teknővölgy013 Bjørnøya-pad (Medve-szigeti-)014 Cat-homokzátonyok

Research topic III: Projections for ocean maps

Research topic IV: Representation of the continental relief

Elevation steps are the same both on the continent and in the sea

Research topic V: Representation of the undersea relief

Elevation steps are the same both on the continent and in the sea

Research topic VI: History of mapping

Research topic VII: Hungarian names in English

• Alföld• Great Alfold• Great Hungarian Plain• Great Plain• Hungarian Great Plain• Hungarian Plain• Plains of Hungary• The Great Plains

Major papers and publications

• Dutkó, A.: The gazetteer and electronic atlas of undersea features

• Gercsák, G.: Using Hungarian geographical names in English language publications

• Hargitai, H.: Planetary Maps: Visualization and nomenclature

• Márton, M.: Representation of undersea features in small scale maps

• Márton, M. – Gercsák, G.: Marsigli's map of the Gulf of Lion

Cooperation with publishers I.

Cooperation outcomes I:changes in Hungarian names

Due to the false interpretation of the origin:

• Atlantis (Atlantisz)-fenékhegy(Seamount named after a ship and not the sunken continent)

• Northwind- (Északi szél) hátság(Ridge named after a ship and not the northern wind)

• Natal (Natali)-fenékhegy(Seamount named after a ship and not the South African province)

Cooperation outcomes II:changes in Hungarian names

Due to the false interpretation of the name:

• Podvodnyik (Podvodnyikov)-medence(The -ov ending expresses genetive and is not part of the name of the basin)

• Newfoundlandi (Új-Fundlandi)-Nagy-padok − Grand Banks of Newfoundland (Wrong splitting of the name „New” Foundland)

Cooperation outcomes III:changes in Hungarian names

Due to inconsistent usage:• Nansen (Gakkel)-hátság

(The Russian name was only locally used for the ridge)

• Északi- (Norra) Midsjö-pad [bank]Déli- (Södra) Midsjö-padNagy- (Great) Sole-padKis- (Little) Sole-pad(Adjectives referring to location and size are translated)

Cooperation with publishers II.

Cooperation with publishers – III.

Cooperation with publishers IV.

Plans and visions − I

• Revision of the chapter on the seas in the Hungarian Great Atlas of the World

Plans and visions − II

• English−Hungarian version of B−6(in manuscript, approved by the Hungarian Commission on Geographical Names)

• Multilingual version of B−6(English−Russian, −French, −Spanish and −Hungarian versions on the web page of the Department of Cartography and Geoinformatics under construction)

• http://mercator.elte.hu/~deszter/tenger

„Moat” in the multilingual B-6

Explanatory figure to „moat”

Plans and visions − III

• Collection of the names of seas and undersea features from maps and gazetteers for a multilingual gazetteer

Collection and coding

of the names for a multilingual

gazetteer

Gazetteer of the Arctic

Ocean

I.1. Barents-self [Hungarian] Barents Shelf [English 3/403; 6/76] Barentsschelf [German 1/6; 2/146,400; 4/10] Barentsův šelf [Czech 1/D.8.4.]  I.1.-1. Északi-foki-selfmedence [Hungarian] Nordkapbecken [German 5/161]

I.1.-1.1. Fugløyi-pad [Hungarian] Fugløy-pad [Hungarian 1/56] Fuglöybanken [English 2/5.01 (from Norwegian)] lavice Fugløy [Czech 3/46]

Map codes and geogaphical names on the shelf in various languages with reference to sources

Plans and visions − IV

• Preparation of the Hungarian version of Limits of Oceans and Seas (SP–23)

MSc degree thesis of a student:

to translate SP−23 into Hungarian, edit it in Mapinfo

and make it available on the web page of the

Department of Cartography and

Geoinformatics

Plans and visions − V.

• Working out the computer technology for the 3D production of globes

• Virtual Museum of Globes (the detachable geophysical-structural globe of the Earth)

• Virtual Globes Museum: http://terkeptar.elte.hu/vgm

Thank you! 고맙습니다 Köszönöm!