8 UNITED STATES BOARD ON GEOGRAPHIC NAMES. 
The matters above discussed have been formulated as principles for 
the guidance of the Board in deciding specific cases. It must be under- 
stood that these are not designed as rules, but as guiding principles', 
from which the Board reserves liberty to depart whenever, in its judg- 
ment, it deems it advisable to do so. 
PRINCIPLES FOR SPECIAL APPLICATION IN THE UNITED STATES. 
1. That spelling and pronunciation which is sanctioned by local 
usage should in general be adopted. 
2. Where names have been changed or corrupted, and such changes 
or corruptions have become established by local usage, it is not in 
general advisable to attempt to restore the original form. 
3. In cases where what was evidently originally the same word ap- 
pears with various spellings sanctioned by local usage, when applied to 
different features, these various spellings should be regarded as in effect 
different names, and as a rule it is inadvisable to attempt to produce 
uniformity. 
4. Where a choice is offered between two or more names for the same 
place or locality, all sanctioned by local usage, that which is most 
appropriate and euphonious should be adopted. 
5. The possessive form should be avoided whenever it can be done 
without destroying the euphony of the name, or changing its descrip- 
tive application. 
6. In names ending in " burgh," the final a h" should be dropped.* 
7. Names ending in u borough'* should be abbreviated to u boro." 
8. The word "center," as a part of a name, should be spelled as above 
and not "centre." 
9. The use of hyphens in connecting parts of names should be dis- 
continued. 
10. The letters "0. H." (Court House) appended to the names of 
county seats should be omitted. 
11. In the case of names consisting of more than one word, it is 
desirable to combine them into one word. 
12. It is desirable to avoid the use of diacritic characters. 
13. It is desirable to avoid the use of the words city and town, as 
parts of names. 
PRINCIPLES FOR SPECIAL APPLICATION IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 
14. Geographic names in countries that use Roman characters should 
be rendered in the form adopted by the country having jurisdiction, 
except where there are English equivalents already fixed by usage. 
In cases where the English equivalent is so different from the local form 
that the identity of the latter with the former might not be recognized, 
both forms may be given. 
15. The spelling of geographic names that require transliteration 
into Roman characters should represent the principal sounds of the 
word as pronounced in the native tongue, in accordance with the sounds 
of the letters in the following system : 
An approximation only to the true sound is aimed at in this system. 
The vowels are to be pronounced as in Italian and on the continent of 
Europe generally, and the consonants as in English. 
