Re: REF: Translingual registrations

In a message dated 1/15/2007 2:46:35 AM Eastern Standard Time,  
tasquierloic@cs.com writes:

<<These two names refer to the same person, Alienor d'Aquitaine  for the 
French, or Eleanor of Aquitaine for the English.
 
Yes, that fact had not escaped me. She was a queen of both France  and 
England, which does add piquancy. Of course, England and France  were not then what 
England and France are now, nor the  languages, but, nevertheless, there it 
is. The really interesting one was  Henrietta Maria of France, wife of Charles I 
of England. When it became  necessary to take up arms, she shouldered hers, 
and led an army. She  called herself, "Her She-Majesty, Generalissima," 
speaking  of wonderful names. Cracks me up.    
 
 
<<The only problem is that it's totally mechanical and, and in  the case of 
Historical figures, i really wonder where is the limit in  disambiguation .

 
The process is not totally mechanical. 
 
As the last step, a human being of benign temperament, adequate  
intelligence, and no personal agendas, decides whether the name under  consideration is 
likely to cause significant confusion in any  one of several ways, or whether it 
is not. In some small number of  cases this decision is one with which other 
persons of good will, adequate  intelligence, and no personal agendas, may 
disagree. So be  it. 
 
Of course, with each registration which enters  the arena the terrain 
changes, and the question  of what disambiguation requires, becomes more complex. 
 
The only way to eliminate the registrar's sole subjective  call, other than 
to form a committee to come up with some joint  subjective call, which idea I 
dismiss as no  improvement on the current  system, is to promulgate ever more 
rules, to the point where  the process becomes as truly mechanical as possible, 
at which point  another set of problems will no doubt be seen peeking eagerly 
over the  horizon. 
 
Do you want more rules?
 
Cordially,
 
Anner Whitehead
Richmond VA USA

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