The technical working group for the transfer of methodologies and practices for the standardisation and implementation of multilingual toponymy, which is part of Activity 2.2 of the CrossTerm project, met for the first time via videoconference on 9 December 2024. The meeting, coordinated by Laura Sgubin from the Central Office for the Slovenian Language of the FVG Region, highlighted the importance of standardising Slovenian place names in Italy. Aleksander Bruss (FVG Region) presented the situation in the FVG Region and highlighted several critical issues related to road signs, pointing out the frequent inconsistencies in the territory of the Slovene linguistic minority in Italy. Andrea Bartole, President of CAN Costiera (Coastal Autonomous Community of Italian Nationality), illustrated the activities promoted for the installation of boards with historical Italian place names next to the official bilingual ones in Piran. Damian Fischer, vice-president of CAN Koper and president of the Municipal Commission for Toponymy of Koper, recalled the recent problems that followed the attempt to add historical and popular place names in Italian/Istrovenetian to the tables with the official bilingual place names. Prof. Dr. Franco Finco spoke about the Friulian experience in Italy, recalling the challenges of trying to find a balance between the standardisation of toponyms in common Friulian and the valorisation of local variants. At the end of the meeting, Lorenzo Armellini spoke about the role of the ARLeF (Regional Agency for the Friulian Language) and the advice given to those responsible for road signs (local authorities, FVG Strade, Autovie Venete, etc.) to ensure full respect for the official Friulian spelling and the correct form of place names.
