List of standardised Welsh place-names
List of standardised Welsh place-names
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List of standardised Welsh place-names

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List of standardised Welsh place-names

The list of standardised Welsh place-names is a list compiled by the Welsh Language Commissioner to recommend the standardisation of the spelling of Welsh place-names, particularly in the Welsh language and when multiple forms are used, although some place-names in English were also recommended to be matched with the Welsh. The list contains almost 3,500 entries, as of November 2023.

The list is based on recommendations provided by the Place-names Standardisation Panel, convened by the Commissioner, for expert advice on the standardisation of Welsh place-names. The panel bases their decisions on a set of guidelines (currently dating to June 2023), specific to Welsh settlement names (such as those of villages, towns, and cities) and topographic features (such as lakes, mountains and rivers). The panel does not cover house or building names, although similar principles could be applied to them or on names for new developments (for which the Commissioner offers their own advice to local authorities and housing developers). The panel may also have used additional guidelines.

The list was first published in 2018, and took years to put together. Upon creation, these lists were published under the Open Government Licence 3.0.

The list is merely a recommendation towards local authorities, which they retain the power whether to implement the recommendations. The commissioner is not tasked with enforcing the recommendations.

In 2021, Ceredigion County Council announced it would consider implementing the list recommendations of the Commissioner in Ceredigion.

The following is based on the panel's guideline as of June 2023.

The panel tries to follow Welsh language orthography, and recognises the authority of Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru (The University of Wales Dictionary of the Welsh Language) on the matter, following the form the dictionary provides as much as possible. However, the panel decided to recommend the use of a circumflex (long sign) for some names, even if not a Welsh orthographical standard, to "avoid ambiguity and ensure correct pronunciation".

The panel also considered closely following the "Rhestr o Enwau Lleoedd/A Gazetteer of Welsh Place-Names" by Elwyn Davies, as well as previous recommendations of the Welsh Language Board's place-names standardisation team. However, the panel recognised that some entries, since 1967, in the Gazetteer may now be out of date or not representative of the modern "linguistic climate", therefore some place-names may not have to be the same as in the Gazetteer.

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