Toponymy. Or Not Toponymy. That Is The Question. Them's Fighting Words ! The Politics Of Place Names.

Image: THE RAD TRAD

Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit ?

An interesting debate has begun on the excellent Blog THE RAD TRAD

as to whether or not it is more correct, or otherwise, to say Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit. You will find the Article, headlined "Spiritus vel Spiritus", on the Post for Thursday, 7 August 2014.

Why not pop over and say your "four penny worth" ?

In addition, and on the same point, should it be:

Myanmar or Burma ?

Persian Gulf or Arabian Gulf ?

Persia or Iran ?

Is one politically correct and the other politically incorrect ?

Is one BBC-speak and one not ?

Is it important ?

Does it matter ?

Deutsch: "Betende Hände" (Studie zu einer Apostelfigur des "Heller"-Altars).

English: "Praying Hands" (study for an Apostle figure of the "Heller" Altar).

Artist: Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528).

Date: Circa 1508.

Current location: Albertina, Vienna, Austria.

Source/Photographer: gallery.euroweb.hu

(Wikimedia Commons)

Zephyrinus read a most interesting Article, recently, in STARS AND STRIPES

which majored on the same theme as above.

It included the observation that some geographic names don't just tell us where we live, or where we're going.

It went on: They are also a political statement, or, in the eyes of some, a politically incorrect one.

They may not spark a war of the worlds, but they can cause a war of words.

It would appear that, last week, Japan slapped monikers on 158 previously un-named islands off its shores. Five of them are part of a cluster that both China and Japan claim and is itself the subject of a name dispute: Is it the Senkaku Islands (Japanese term) or the Diaoyu Islands (Chinese term) ?

Perhaps we all should just Pray more than we do for Peace around the world ?