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15.07 Reinstatement of official English toponyms

Where the generic of an English-language place name has been translated into French, it is essential to restore it to its original English form when translating the French document into English. In the following sentence, the toponyms have been translated into French but their official forms are English:

  • Le relief du plateau est plus particulièrement remarquable dans le nord de l’île Somerset, sur la presqu’île Brodeur, ainsi que dans le centre et l’ouest de l’île Prince of Wales.

Since, in accordance with the rules, the specific parts of these toponyms (Somerset, Brodeur, Prince of Wales) have not been modified in any way, it becomes more a question of verifying the official English form in the appropriate gazetteer than a question of translation. The original names are Somerset Island, Brodeur Peninsula and Prince of Wales Island.

15.08 Translation of the generic

General rule

The generic of a geographical feature name may be translated:

  • lac Beauchamp / Beauchamp Lake
  • île Madame / Madame Island

French and English equivalents for generics have been established in the publication Glossary of Generic Terms in Canada’s Geographical Names.2

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  • Back to the note2 Canada, Glossary of Generic Terms in Canada’s Geographical Names: TB 176 / Glossaire des génériques en usage dans les noms géographiques du Canada : BT 176.

Exceptions

The generic should not be translated in situations (a), (b), (c) and (d) below. The name is left in its official form and is followed, as needed, by a geographical term describing the nature of the entity, which will be indicated in the gazetteer of the province or territory concerned.

(a) The generic does not indicate the actual nature of the entity designated:

  • île Cooks (rock) / Île Cooks rock
  • lac Cochémère (pond) / Lac Cochémère pond

(b) The generic is rare or borrowed from a language other than English or French:

  • Hanbury Kopje hill
  • Loch Erne lake

(c) The generic is separated from the specific by one or more linking particles:

  • lac aux Saumons / Lac aux Saumons
  • baie de la Sorcière / Baie de la Sorcière
  • anse de la Pointe / Anse de la Pointe

(d) The name is preceded by the article "Le (La, Les, L’)," which is part of the toponym. The article is retained at the beginning of the toponym and the appropriate geographical term or a short description may be added for clarity:

  • Les Chutes / Les Chutes or the falls known as Les Chutes
  • La Grande Rivière / La Grande Rivière
  • Le Petit Étang / Le Petit Étang or the pond known as Le Petit Étang