Official documentation
On conversion of names into Roman alphabet from other writing systems (Working Paper No. 4, Twelfth Session)
Sweden, United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names, 1986
Read the originalRead on October 17, 2026
- What it is
- A working paper submitted by Sweden to the Twelfth Session of the UN Group of Experts on Geographical Names in Geneva in 1986. It reviews the history of UN decisions on romanizing place names, including the recommendation on Pinyin for Chinese names.
- How much weight it carries
- An official UN working paper that records earlier UN decisions. It is a history written for a 1986 meeting, so it shows what the UN recommended, not the current status of each romanization system.
Facts taken from this source
- A 1986 UN working paper recalls that a UN conference recommended adopting Pinyin as the international system for romanizing Chinese geographical names.
“recommended in resolution No. 8 that Pinyin be adopted as the international system” (Background on romanization decisions (working paper text))