Exonym and Endonym

Exonym And Endonym

In ethnolinguistics, an endonym or autonym (from the Greek ἔνδον, éndon, "within" or αὐτο-, auto-, "self" and ὄνομα, ónoma, "name") is the name given by an ethnic group to its own geographical entity, or the name an ethnic group calls itself, often laudatory or self-aggrandizing, and an exonym or xenonym (from the Greek: ἔξω, éxō, "out" or ξένος-, xénos, "foreign" and ὄνομα, ónoma, "name") is the name given to an ethnic group or to a geographical entity by other ethnic groups, often pejorative or derogatory. Exonyms and endonyms can be names of places (toponym), ethnic groups (ethnonym), languages (glossonym), or individuals (personal name). The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names defines:

• Endonym: Name of a geographical feature in an official or well-established language occurring in that area where the feature is located.
• Exonym: Name used in a specific language for a geographical feature situated outside the area where that language is spoken, and differing in its form from the name used in an official or well-established language of that area where the geographical feature is located.

For example, China, India, Germany, Greece, Japan, Hungary and Korea are the English exonyms corresponding to the endonyms Zhongguo, Bharat, Deutschland, Hellas, Nippon (Nihon), Magyarország and Hanguk/Chosun, respectively.