English Channel
Date: 9/1/2023 5:40:56 PM
English Channel
To my late mother and to the memory of the early 1970s when she used to hold my hand and take me from the "Finchley" road in "Hampstead" area of London to nursery school and to the memory of the port of "Plymouth" that she loved so much.
I am pleased to say that my research on geographical names has been successful and I have managed to resolve three of the four most famous geographical naming disputes in the world by reference to documents and records. In the first case, the name of the Persian Gulf, it was found that 99% of the documents confirm this historical name, and the remaining 1% are geographical errors and have no value and a name other than the Persian Gulf, like Arabian Gulf or Basra Korfezi (Gulf of Basra) is baseless according to the science of history and geography. I am delightful to say that now my book titled "TOPONYMY and the name Persian Gulf" written in English language has become a reference book in the world. To be honest, one of the main reasons for the success of this book was that in writing this book I had this English saying in the mind that says: "Lower your voice and strengthen your argument". In addition to this book, I also prepared two booklets in English language about two other geographical naming disputes in the world. They are respectively the dispute over the name of the Sea of Japan/East Sea and the name of the Malvinas/Falkland Islands. In the first case, it was found that in addition to the fact that the name of the Sea of Japan has more history, this name is also mentioned in 60% of the documents and therefore the priority is to use the name of the Sea of Japan. This booklet was noticed by the cultural centers of Japan and was also officially commended by His Excellency, the ambassador of Japan in Iran. In the second case, it was found that according to the documents, historically the name Malvinas was used first and therefore the priority is to use the name Malvinas. This research was also very well received by Argentina's think tanks and was officially commended by His Excellency the ambassador of Argentina in Iran. There are three cases so far, so what is the fourth and the last case? It is the busiest shipping area in the world! It is about 560 kilometres (300 nautical miles) long with 63 metres (207 feet) average depth and 174 metres (571 feet) maximum depth. Yes, if you're British I'm talking about the "English Channel" and if you're French I should say I'm talking about the "La Manche". This important and strategic waterway is located between the United Kingdom and France. It is interesting to know that people in French-speaking countries generally have not heard the name of the English Channel and conversely, people in English-speaking countries have not generally heard the name of the La Manche! But in countries other than English-speaking and French-speaking countries, mostly use the French name i.e. "La Manche". I am aware that whatever the result of my research is, it cannot force the French side to use the English name of this waterway, nor can it force the English side to use the French name of this waterway. Rather, it helps other countries of the world as well as the United Nations Organization as the highest legal source of the world to use the name that is historically and geographically more correct. According to the UN program of "standardization of geographical names" we should only use one name for a country, city, mountain, island, waterway, etc… to avoid confusion. The word standardization as applied to geographical names is defined by the United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical names (UNGEGN) as: the establishment, by an appropriate authority of a specific set of standards or norms. In today’s digital world, standardized geographical names are vital. They help us find our way in society and they also help us organize the world we live in. They also play a key role in our efforts to achieve sustainable development, providing fundamental channels of communication, facilitating cooperation among local, national and international organizations. We also need standardized geographical names in emergency situations. Without them, it can be challenging to respond to crisis. In fact modern society depends on the use of standard geographical names for accurate and efficient administration and communication. Common sense tells us that to communicate effectively there should be mutual understanding as to what is being referred to. As far as names are concerned, the ideal is that each feature should have its own unique name and that name should be written or geographically represented in only one way. As far as I know, in the previous three cases, my research was the first research in the world in English language (that is called Lingua Franca) regarding those topics. I think that in this case also (English Channel/La Manche) my research probably is the first. Someone has to be found to have the courage to tell the truth, even if some people dislike. The English Channel was also known by names similar to it i.e. British Sea, British Channel and Oceanus Britannicus . The French refer to the Channel as “La Manche” because of its sleevelike shape. The Channel has been utilized by Britain as a natural defence mechanism (just like Persian Gulf for Iran). The name first appears in Roman sources as Oceanus Britannicus (or Mare Britannicus, meaning The British Ocean or British Sea). This term was used by influential writers and geographers such as "Claudius Ptolemy" and remained popular with British into the modern era. In the sixteenth century, Dutch maps referred to the waterway as the Engelse Kanaal (English Channel). By the Eighteenth century, the name English Channel was in common usage in England. However, the term English channel remained popular and was finally in official usage by the nineteenth century. The French name La Manche (sleeve) has been used since the 17th century. The name in French has been directly adapted in other Romance languages like: Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Romanian and German. Also in other languages such as Arabic, Turkish and Persian, this waterway is known as the "Manche Sea" or "Manche Channel". The point I want to bring to attention is that in this case we should see which name precedes the other one as historically and geographically the priority is to use the first one. These results were obtained after detailed research:
The history of modern cartography goes back to 500 to 600 years ago. The name La Manche has appeared on geographical maps since the beginning of the 17th century, while the history of using the name English Channel in modern cartography goes back at least 100 to 150 years before that. In old geography, similar names of the English Channel, such as the "Oceanus Britannicus" were also used. Perhaps one of the most important documents regarding the proof of the name English Channel is use of the name "Oceanus Britannicus" by Claudius Ptolemy who is known as the father of ancient recorded geography. Careful study of records and documents show that the name English Channel precedes the French name of La Manche, so historically English Channel is the priority name and the standard geographical name of this waterway in North Atlantic Ocean according to the records and documents is "English Channel". It is noteworthy that one of the oldest and most reputable organizations of the world, the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) established in Monaco 1921 for scientific study of the world waterways uses the name of the English Channel, the document of which is shown in the pictures of this booklet. I ask the non-French speaking countries to correct the error in their geographical atlases and replace the name of the La Manche with the name of the English Channel. Also, I recommend the United Nations organization and especially its specialized geographical group i.e. UNGEGN to consider the name of the English Channel as the geographical standard name of this waterway.
Seyed Abbas Mojtahedi
July 2022
