The first volume of the Proceedings of the 27th International Congress of Onomastic Sciences centres around toponomastics. The volume begins with two keynote lectures. In the first one, Sheila Embleton describes names in India – toponyms and anthroponyms – from a historical point of view, which has a bearing on the subcontinent’s present onomastic situation. She pays particular attention to post-colonial changes of the names of cities, states and streets. She also outlines the principles of personal naming in India: while given names are often indicative of their bearers’ religion or ethnicity, many surnames are linked to caste or occupation, though some may mark the town or region of origin; there are also instances of mononyms or vestiges of the patronymic system.

The second keynote lecture, by Peter Jordan, analyses in depth the much-debated concept of the exonym/endonym divide as relevant for the study of toponymy in a supranational perspective. Either shunned as nationalist, or admitted as cultural heritage, exonyms are politically entangled. A more nuanced analysis reveals the possible perception of the exonym/endonym relation as a dichotomy or as a continuum that spans intermediate stages. The intricate interplay of spelling and pronunciation is also discussed, including the idea of transformations that are linguistically unavoidable. Finally, definitions of exonyms and endonyms are invoked.