Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Name Struggle

Word Challenge:  TOPONYM--a place name or a word coined in association with the name of a place (See end of post for examples)

Benjamin Disraeli said: "The best way to become acquainted with a subject is to write a book about it."

I am certainly finding that true as I research my book on Martin De Leon and family. Names of places and people changed over the period of time covered by the subject. This can lead to confusion for the author as well as for her readers. For example, the place is referred to as New Spain, Mexico, Coahuila/Tejas, and Texas. The people themselves were Spaniards, Mexicans, Tejanos, andTexans. The challenge is to be accurate in telling De Leon's story while not losing the reader.

Examples of a "toponym":  Hot Springs (Arkansas) and Battle Creek (Michigan)

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