Editing Dunbartonshire (section)

==Name==
[[Image:Scotland Dumbarton Castle bordercropped.jpg|right|thumb|Looking across the [[River Clyde]] towards [[Dumbarton Castle]]]]
The town name "[[Dumbarton]]" comes from the [[Scottish Gaelic]] {{lang|gd|Dùn Breatainn}} meaning "fort of the [[Britons (historical)|Britons]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/descriptions/entry_page.jsp;jsessionid=4D6D4999541B97B99E16F7023A499772?text_id=106330&word=NULL|title=Visions of Britain}}</ref> Historically, the spelling of the county town and the county were not standardised. By the 18th century the names "County of Dunbarton" and "County of Dumbarton" were used interchangeably.<ref>See for instance ''Crown Lands - Forfeited Estates Act, 1784'' (1784 c. 57) and ''Manning of the Navy Act, 1795'' (1795 c. 29)</ref> The n in "Dunbarton" represents the etymology {{lang|gd|Dùn}} "fort"; the "m" in "Dumbarton" reflects a pronunciation with [[assimilation (phonology)|assimilation]] of {{IPAc-en|n}} to the labial {{IPAc-en|m}}, due to the influence of the neighbouring labial {{IPAc-en|b}} sound.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Millar |first1=Robert McColl |last2=Trask |first2=Larry |title=Trask's Historical Linguistics |date=2015 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-54176-9 |edition=3rd |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pWzABgAAQBAJ&pg=PT85 |language=en |chapter=3.2 Assimilation and dissimilation }}</ref>

Different county bodies used the two spellings: the Dunbarton County Constabulary were formed in 1857 by the [[Commissioners of Supply]] for the County of Dunbarton.<ref>''Edinburgh Gazette'', Issue 6736, published 15 September 1857</ref>

In 1890 elected county councils were established under the [[Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889]], which referred to the area as the "County of Dumbarton". However, one of the county council's first acts was to adopt an official seal, for which it chose to use the spelling "Dunbarton", with an "n", as being closer to the name's etymology, despite protests from some residents who maintained that the spelling with an "m" was better established in general usage.<ref>{{cite news |title=Dumbarton County Council |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/ |access-date=18 February 2023 |work=Kirkintilloch Herald |date=2 April 1890 |page=5}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Dumbarton, not Dunbarton |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/ |access-date=18 February 2023 |work=Lennox Herald |date=11 April 1891 |location=Dumbarton |page=1}}</ref> The town of Dumbarton continued to use the spelling with an "m". Statutory recognition of the spelling with an "n" being used for the county came with the [[Local Government (Scotland) Act 1947]] ([[10 & 11 Geo. 6]]. c. 43).<ref>{{cite legislation UK|type=act|act=Local Government (Scotland) Act 1947|year=1947|chapter=43|accessdate=18 February 2023}}</ref>