Place names considered unusual
Unusual place names are names for cities, towns, and other regions which are considered non-ordinary in some manner. Examples would be place names that are also swear words, inadvertently humorous words, or highly charged words in another language, such as Fucking, Austria, Hell, Norway, Dunedin, New Zealand or Condom, Gers (France).[1]
Another example is names which are offensive, due to their no longer being acceptable, often through historic changes in what is tolerated.[2][3][4][5] There is no commonly defined measure for what makes a place name unusual, though unorthodox spelling or pronunciation, short or long names, and names derived from unusual sources, such as Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, are often seen as unusual, especially by people outside the culture which named them.
[edit] See also
- Toponymy, the study of place names
[edit] References
- ^ Lyall, Sarah (2009-01-22). "No Snickering: That Road Sign Means Something Else". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/23/world/europe/23crapstone.html.
- ^ New Century Foundation. "Bills Target Racially Offensive Place Names". Amren.com. http://www.amren.com/news/news04/03/30/placenames.html. Retrieved 2010-08-17.
- ^ Kenney, Michael (2006-05-30). "Geographer explores place names that offend - The Boston Globe". Boston.com. http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2006/05/30/geographer_explores_place_names_that_offend/. Retrieved 2010-08-17.
- ^ Adams, Guy (2010-02-28). "Americans redraw the map to erase 'offensive' names - Americas, World". London: The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/americans-redraw-the-map-to-erase-offensive-names-1913020.html. Retrieved 2010-08-17.
- ^ "UK | England | Sussex | Council lists banned road names". BBC News. 2009-01-04. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/sussex/7810512.stm. Retrieved 2010-08-17.
[edit] External links
- University of calgary press
- Arkansas's Colorful Names Amuse Some, Intrigue Others
- From Red Hot to Monkey's Eyebrow. Unusual Kentucky Place Names (1997)
- CNN news, Odd town names strike author's fancy (1998)
- Odd and Unusual Place Names
- Odd Name Places
- Topeka, Kansas, named Google, Kansas for one month
- List of Weird Place Names
