About the ISPN
The fifth International Symposium on Place Names (ISPN) will be held from 18 to 20 September 2019 at the Mont d'Or Hotel in
Clarens, South Africa (information about the venue
here). The theme of this Symposium is 'Recognition, regulation, revitalisation: place names and indigenous languages' (
download the ISPN 2019 Call for Papers). It is jointly organised by the Joint IGU/ICA Commission on Toponymy and the Department of South African Sign Language and Deaf Studies (University of the Free State). The deadline for abstract submissions (
online) is 4 March 2019 and registrations close 5 August 2019.
The vision of the International Symposium on Place Names is to continue and promote the sharing of international expertise and collaboration on all aspects of place names. As such, in addition to the symposium, a
workshop on place names for practitioners and researchers of all levels will directly precede the symposium (16-17 September 2019, same venue).
About Clarens
Clarens is a picturesque little town at the foothills of the Maluti Mountains, approximately 300 km from Johannesburg, Bloemfontein and Durban (3 to 4 hours’ driving). Delegates are responsible for their own transport and for booking their own accommodation. We recommend the free service provided by Mount Odyssey (odyssey@isat.co.za).
History of the ISPN
Peter E Raper, one of South Africa’s foremost experts on the Bushman (San) substructures of place names, was appointed as a Professor Extraordinaire in Linguistics in 2011. Subsequently, his host department, together with the Unit for Language Facilitation and Empowerment, initiated the Place Names Symposium. The hosting of the symposium is now situated within the newly restructured
Department of South African Sign Language and Deaf Studies. The aim of this event is to provide a platform for the sharing of expertise and knowledge about place names for local as well as international researchers and government officials.
The symposium became an international occurrence when the
Joint IGU/ICA Commission on Toponymy came on board in 2015. Hosted every second year, this symposium is the only one in Southern Africa that focuses on toponomy. The
2011 symposium, entitled 'Planning name changes – the quest for authenticity', was hosted in Bloemfontein, as was the one in
2013 with the theme, 'Place names in a multilingual society'. The symposium in
2015, which focused on 'Place names, diversity and heritage', was held in Clarens. The University of Namibia collaborated to host the
2017 symposium in Windhoek, Namibia.
Organising committee
Dr Chrismi Loth
Symposium Coordinator
kongresETFB@ufs.ac.za
+27 51 401 2476
Prof Theodorus du Plessis
Host (HOD: South African Sign Language and Deaf Studies, UFS)
Prof Peter E Raper
Executive member of scientific and organising committee
Jani de Lange
Symposium Assistant and Workshop Coordinator
kursusETFB@ufs.ac.za
+27 51 401 7110Scientific committee
- Cosimo Palagiano (Italy): Sapienza University of Rome
IGU Chair – Joint IGU/ICA Commission on Toponymy
- Lucie A Möller (South Africa): University of the Free State
- Paulo Márcio Leal de Menezes (Brazil): Federal University of Rio de Janeiro
Common Vice-Chair – Joint IGU/ICA Commission on Toponymy
- Peter Jordan (Austria): Austrian Academy of Sciences; University of the Free State
ICA Chair – Joint IGU/ICA Commission on Toponymy
- Peter E Raper (South Africa): University of the Free State
Member of the Steering Board – Joint IGU/ICA Commission on Toponymy
- Theodorus du Plessis (South Africa): Head – SASLDS, University of the Free State