Nomenclator Zoologicus Volume 9 - errors in author names

Mon Mar 27 15:12:11 CST 2006

It seems to me that the proper way to cite the name is the way it appeared in the
published paper.  That's the only way to ensure consistency.  If we start modifying
author's names as a function of the language in which we are writing, as opposed to
the language in which they wrote (or in which the paper was published), we will create
a horrible mess.

I see the same problem with pronunciations.  I have noticed that some people insist on
pronouncing many names according to the language of origin.  What I find interesting
is that they are invariably selective when doing so.  Many English speakers will
pronounce "Juan Rodriguez" as if they were speaking Spanish, even if Juan is a third
generation US citizen who has no trace of a hispanic accent.  But, these same
individuals make no effort to pronounce my name as it would be spoken in Danish or to
pronounce Henry Higgin's name as it would be pronounced by someone with a Cockney
accent.

Cheers,

Dick J

"Michael A. Ivie" wrote:

> The problem Al has mentioned with Russian transliteration has come up in
> a recent manuscript, and I was wondering if there is a correct
> solution.  The Russian coleopterists known as A.P. Semenov-Tian-Shansky
> spelled his name Semenow in papers published in German, following the
> German transliteration.  Should this author, in a paper publilshed in
> English, be cited as Semenow following the German on the paper, or
> Semenov following most English -speaking authors, or
> Semenov-Tian-Shansky following Russians publishing in English, or
> something else I do not know of?  Currently, we have it as Semenov in
> the text, and Semenov (also cited as Semenow) in the Lit Cit.
>
> Mike
>
> Alfred Newton wrote:
>
> > Dear Frank et al.:
> >
> > Yes, presence or absence of accents in authors' names is a constant
> > problem, and both forms are present in NZ for many authors including
> > Jäch.  Likewise, the differing transliteration systems used for
> > non-Roman alphabet names, e.g., there are as many as 5 different
> > spellings in NZ for the names of some Russian authors!  The names were
> > often taken as provided in a given publication, not checked and
> > standardized.  Just more potential problems for NZ users to be aware
> > of (in addition to the truncation of some Vol. 9 names that I pointed
> > out and Chris confirmed).
> >
> > Al.
> >
> > At 02:43 AM 25/03/06, Frank Krell wrote:
> >
> >> Ja 1994 should be Jach 1994
> >>
> >> Well, it should even be Jäch, or if umlauts are too much for Naeve,
> >> it should be Jaech.
> >>
> >> Neglecting umlauts is like neglecting te th, or calling te autor of
> >> te nomenclator Nave: It is simply an orthographic error and changes
> >> the pronunciation of the name, in the present case not only of the
> >> umlaut itself but also of the following ch. Particularly in a printed
> >> book, neglecting diacritical marks is unnecessary and awkward.
> >>
> >> Frank
> >>
> >> Dr Frank-T. Krell
> >> Head, Coleoptera Division
> >> Editor, Systematic Entomology
> >> Department of Entomology
> >> The Natural History Museum
> >> Cromwell Road
> >> London SW7 5BD, U.K.
> >> Tel. +44 (0) 20 7942 5886
> >> Fax +44 (0) 20 7942 5229
> >> f.krell at nhm.ac.uk
> >> http://www.nhm.ac.uk//research-curation/staff-directory/entomology/cv-3566.html
> >>
> >> http://myprofile.cos.com/ftkrell
> >>
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From:   Taxacom Discussion List on behalf of Alfred Newton
> >> Sent:   Sat 25/03/2006 01:43
> >> To:     TAXACOM at LISTSERV.NHM.KU.EDU
> >> Cc:
> >> Subject:             [TAXACOM] Nomenclator Zoologicus Volume 9 -
> >> errors in author names
> >>
> >> Dear Nomenclator Zoologicus users:
> >>
> >> I just happened across a curious problem with many generic names in
> >> Vol. 9
> >> of the printed version of Neave's Nomenclator Zoologicus,
> >> particularly for
> >> names dated 1992-1994, which is faithfully carried over into the online
> >> version of the Nomenclator at:
> >> http://www.ubio.org/NomenclatorZoologicus/
> >>
> >> Specifically, many of the names of authors are truncated, with the
> >> last 1-2
> >> letters chopped off.  Some examples (there are multiple generic names
> >> for
> >> each):
> >> Erw 1994 should be Erwin 1994
> >> Ja 1994 should be Jach 1994
> >> Morro 1994 should be Morrone 1994
> >> Perki & Balfour-Browne 1994 should be Perkins & Balfour-Browne 1994
> >> Spring & Goodri 1994 should be Springer & Goodrich 1994
> >> Wa 1992 should be Watt 1992
> >> etc. etc.
> >> the winner: Declinia "Nikits Lawren, Kirejtsh & Gratsh 1993" should be
> >> Nikitsky, Lawrence, Kirejtshuk & Gratshev 1993!
> >>
> >> The problem seems to start at about 1990 and become worse until about
> >> half
> >> of the 1994 authors have truncated names.  So, if you use the
> >> Nomenclator
> >> to check a generic name and the author name(s) look funny, and it
> >> dates to
> >> the early 1990's, check the generic name on Google and you will usually
> >> find the correct full author name (but occasionally Google will find the
> >> truncated author name because the data were extracted from the
> >> Nomenclator!).
> >>
> >>
> >> Alfred F. Newton    <anewton at fieldmuseum.org>
> >> Associate Curator
> >> Zoology Department/Insect Division
> >> Field Museum of Natural History    <http://www.fmnh.org>
> >> 1400 South Lake Shore Drive
> >> Chicago, IL 60605 USA
> >>          Tel. (direct line):  312-665-7738
> >>          Fax (Zoology Dept.):  312-665-7754
> >>          Austral Staphylinid PEET site including Staphyliniformia
> >> catalog
> >> databases:
> >>                  <http://www.fieldmuseum.org/peet_staph/>
> >
> >
> > Alfred F. Newton    <anewton at fieldmuseum.org>
> > Associate Curator
> > Zoology Department/Insect Division
> > Field Museum of Natural History    <http://www.fmnh.org>
> > 1400 South Lake Shore Drive
> > Chicago, IL 60605 USA
> >         Tel. (direct line):  312-665-7738
> >         Fax (Zoology Dept.):  312-665-7754
> >         Austral Staphylinid PEET site including Staphyliniformia
> > catalog databases:
> >                 <http://www.fieldmuseum.org/peet_staph/>
> >
> >
> >
>
> --
> __________________________________________________
> NOTE NEW ADDRESS:
>
> Michael A. Ivie, Ph.D., F.R.E.S.
>
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>
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--
Richard J. Jensen              | tel: 574-284-4674
Department of Biology      | fax: 574-284-4716
Saint Mary's College         | e-mail: rjensen at saintmarys.edu
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