Proclaiming place: Towards a geography of place name pronunciation

This paper provides a critical review of recent geographical scholarship on place naming and contends that aural aspects of naming have yet to be fully worked into the research agenda. To begin to address this gap in the literature, we consider pronunciation to be an important element of the cultural politics of place naming within post-colonial societies. In asserting links between speaking and naming we are contributing to recent scholarship in cultural geography that has moved beyond the visual to consider a wider sensory spectrum in the constitution of place. Our case material is drawn from Aotearoa/New Zealand where conservative reactions to sympathetic pronunciations of Maori names by media personalities are a frequent occurrence. By way of example, we interpret selected examples of unsolicited comment gleaned from newspapers during the period 1994-1999. We conclude that identity is at least in part narrated through place-referenced linguistic tactics such as pronunciation. Cet article se veut un inventaire critique des récents travaux académiques sur la toponymie et soutient que la question des aspects 'auditifs' du nom mérite davantage l'attention des chercheurs. Afin de remédier à ce manque dans la littérature existante, nous suggérons que la problématique de la prononciation constitue un élément important des débats culturels entourant l'attribution de noms de lieux, surtout chez les sociétés postcoloniales. En insistant sur les liens entre le fait de parler et celui de nommer, notre discussion s'inscrit dans les travaux récents en géographie culturelle allant au-delà du visuel afin de concevoir une gamme sensorielle beaucoup plus large en ce qui a trait à la conception du lieu. Nos données sont tirées de la Aotearoa/Nouvelle-Zélande où les réactions conservatrices sont fréquentes lorsque des noms d'origine Maori sont utilisés par des personnalités médiatiques. A titre d'exemple, nous interprétons des commentaires receuillis dans les journaux entre 1994-1999. Nous concluons que l'identité est en partie rattachée à des références toponymiques et linguistiques tactiques telles que la prononciation. Este papel da un análisis crítico de reciente erudición geográfica sobre el nombramiento de lugares y afirma que el aspecto auditivo del nombramiento todavía no forma uno de los asuntos de investigación. Para empezar a cerrar esta brecha en la literatura, consideramos que la pronunciación constituye un elemento importante en la política cultural del nombramiento de lugares dentro de las sociedades pos-coloniales. Al acertar vínculos entre el hablar y el nombrar contribuimos a erudición reciente en la geografía cultural que se ha ido más alláde lo visual para considerar un espectro sensorio más amplio en la constitución de lugar. La materia de nuestro estudio viene de Aotearoa/Nueva Zelanda donde son frecuentes las reacciones conservadores a pronunciaciones comprensivas de los nombres Maorí por personajes de los medios de comunicación. Como ejemplo, interpretamos ejemplos de comentarios no solicitados, recogidos de periódicos de los años 1994 a 1999. Concluimos que, por lo menos en parte, la identidad es narrada por tácticas lingüísticas que se refieren a un lugar, tal como pronunciación.     

New Directions in Classic Maya Household Archaeology

Over the past two decades, household studies have coalesced into a recognized subfield within archaeology. Despite this relatively short history, household archaeologists are now taking a leading role in epistemological shifts that are placing people and their practices and differences at the center of archaeological interpretations of the past, rather than subsuming these into the noise of passive and depersonalized depictions of ancient social systems. As Maya archaeologists have played a critical role in the development of household archaeology, examining recent trends in Maya household research provides a perspective on the directions of both Maya studies and household archaeology more generally. This article explores three interrelated trends: (1) understanding ordinary people; (2) understanding social diversity among households; (3) understanding households in articulation with the broder social universe. Through a discussion of these three trends, this review uses Classic Maya household archaeology as a case study to illustrate how household research has led to the development of theoretically rich and empirically substantive understandings of an ancient society, which repeople the past and foreground the active roles of and structural constraints on ancient people.     

Dimensional Analysis: Some Applications In Human Geography

Dimensional analysis is introduced, and applications of it to human geography are considered. Primary and secondary dimensions are selected; techniques of dimensional analysis are used to derive and check a functional relationship drawn from central place theory, to test the dimensional implications of a power function (the Pareto gravity model), to disaggregate a theoretical parameter (the exponential distance decay coefficient), and to simplify a complex system of variables in agricultural location theory to a system of dimensionless products. Difficulties inherent in the application of dimensional analysis to human geography are discussed.     

Police power and fettered freedom: regulating coastal freedom camping in New Zealand

Freedom camping is a form of tourism entailing overnight stays in public open spaces, rather than formal campgrounds. It presents varied challenges for local governments charged with maintaining safe and orderly public spaces. This article provides empirical and conceptual insights into the regulation of coastal freedom camping in New Zealand, drawing on the notion of police power. This form of law is centrally concerned with preventing disruption and disorder in public space, and seeks to advance collective welfare rather than individual rights. The purpose of this article is twofold. First, we consider why and how local governments in New Zealand regulate coastal freedom camping, focusing on a case study of the Coromandel district. Second, we consider how freedom campers understand and experience the regulation of their activities, drawing on a survey of 61 campers in three North Island coastal areas. We find that the policing of freedom camping proceeds through regulation of space, objects and behaviours. Underpinning this approach is an understanding of the activity as inherently problematic. Freedom campers themselves were generally aware of local regulations, but had little experience of enforcement. Most sought to perform camping responsibly, whilst noting that some others required policing.     

The English Interpreters in Dahomey, 1843–1852

ABSTRACT

Commercial and diplomatic relations between Africans and Europeans in West Africa in the pre-colonial period depended on the existence of persons who had sufficient knowledge of both European and African languages to be able to act as interpreters between the parties, and such persons were more usually Africans than Europeans. This article collates biographical information on four persons who served as interpreters to successive British visitors to the kingdom of Dahomey between 1843 and 1852, including official government missions seeking to persuade the Dahomian king to cooperate in the suppression of the Atlantic slave trade. The lives of such men may be thought of as involving the ‘transcending’ of ‘boundaries’, not only in acting as brokers in contacts between Africans and Europeans, but also in themselves occupying an ambiguous liminal position between the two. In their role as interpreters, they were subject to contradictory pressures, from the Dahomian state and the various European interests involved in the negotiations, and at the same time sought to advance their own personal interests. Beyond the intrinsic interest of these biographies, this article is conceived as a methodological exploration of the possibility of extracting an African voice and perspective from mainly European sources.     

Raman analysis of ninth-century Iraqi stuccoes from Samarra

Six ninth-century stucco fragments from Samarra, Iraq, and now part of the Victoria and Albert Museum collections, were analysed non-destructively and in situ in the Museum by Raman microscopy in order to determine the identities of the pigments thereon. Carbon black, haematite, gypsum, indigo, lazurite, lead white, orpiment, pararealgar, red lead, vermilion and the As₄S₄ χ-phase were detected. The detection of several arsenic-containing pigments (orpiment, pararealgar and the As₄S₄ χ-phase), known to be poisonous and carcinogenic, has prompted strict health and safety protocols to be used when the objects are handled by museum staff or displayed in the galleries. This scientific study is the first to be carried out on any of the Samarra finds.     

The Incredible Vagueness of being British/English

After suggesting why strong national identities arise, the author highlights the difficulties of distinguishing between Britishness and Englishness. Though this distinction is frequently elided or conflated, there are now pressures to resolve ambiguities that arise from globalization, Celtic demands for autonomy, the UK's membership of the European Union and the growth of international expressions of English identity. Can a specifically English identity be demarcated? Simply listing supposed national characteristics is futile, while looking at the connection between identity and landscape is helpful, but insufficient. Delimiting a British identity is even more difficult. Nonetheless, the author suggests that it remains important to construct an inclusive notion of British identity.