Transcription

Abstract

The previous chapter considered the variations that can be introduced when proper names are converted from one person name system to another and explained that this frequently occurs when non-Western names are stored in a database designed around Western naming conventions. This chapter considers a related but significantly more problematic source of variation in proper names: the variations that are caused by transferring proper names from one writing system to another.

There may be many valid romanised versions of the same non-Latin names, and the differences between them can be considerable. This is a particularly important consideration in the design of any identity matching system used for compliance, law enforcement or national security purposes, as watch lists published for use in such systems often focus on romanised versions of names, despite including a significant number of names originating from countries where the Latin script is not used.