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Is it really "impolite" that some peoples and countries have different names in different languages?

Is it really "impolite" that some peoples and countries have different names in different languages?

  • yes, it is impolite

    Votes: 2 7.7%

  • yes, it is insulting

    Votes: 2 7.7%

  • no, it is not impolite

    Votes: 12 46.2%

  • no, it is not insulting

    Votes: 11 42.3%

  • it is just the way that languages work

    Votes: 14 53.8%

  • i find it interesting that there are different names in different languages for the same country

    Votes: 12 46.2%
  • Total voters
    26
NewfieMom said:
Sometimes you just hit on a hot topic.
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Sometimes, certain people have a sad after their thread levels-off, so they wait a bit and revive their necro thread.

What makes it even worse, is that many of his notions on language/transliteration are just plain wrong.
 
I wonder what those politically correct people do, when they come across cities that have 3 different "indigenous" names that are all 3 official.
Must they then say: "We have been to Liège/Luik/Lüttich and to Bruxelles/Brussel/Brüssel"?
Because they are so proud that out of politeness and honour they call every country and city etc by exactly the same name as the people use who live there.
 
Countries no, but if you try saying it in its proper form and get it wrong you will be corrected. However, if you are swapping people's names, yes, they will be offended and rightfully so. For instance, my name is Clara. It is Clara, not Claire...and I will be pissed as hell if you tell me well in English its....because, no my name is Clara not Claire.
 
Rumpel said:
German cities often have different names in English.
But at the moment I cannot think of any English city with a different name in German.

And England = England and Wales = Wales.

Only 3 countries are slightly different:

Scotland = Schottland
Ireland = Irland
Northern Ireland = Nord-Irland
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Isn’t Ireland Éire?
 
ClaraD said:
Countries no, but if you try saying it in its proper form and get it wrong you will be corrected. However, if you are swapping people's names, yes, they will be offended and rightfully so. For instance, my name is Clara. It is Clara, not Claire...and I will be pissed as hell if you tell me well in English its....because, no my name is Clara not Claire.
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Well is it though? Years ago I took Spanish lessons from a Chilean woman and she pronounced my name in a way I thought was wrong and I corrected her, then years later I went to Norway (my name is Norwegian) and I learned my name in the Norwegian language is pronounced just how my Chilean Spanish teacher pronounced it
 
Whenever I am in England or France or Spain or Italy etc and my friends there use the English or French or Spanish or Italian form of my name, then I do not mind at all. On the contrary, I find this nice and friendly. :)
 
Edinburgh, the captal of Scotland, sometimes loses its h in German texts.
It then becomes "Edinburg".
And when I am speaking in German I pronounce the -burg part like the German word Burg (Castle).
When I am in Scotland and talking to my Scottish friends then I pronounce Edinburgh the Scottish way of course - which is quite different. :)
 
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Btw, do you all know how the capital of Scotland is pronounced?
Here is the answer:

How do you Pronounce Edinburgh?​

This is where things get a bit more interesting, especially once the Scottish accent is thrown into the mix.

Let’s start with the correct pronunciation:

Phonetically, Edinburgh is pronounced ed-in-bruh

We’ll often hear tourists adopting slight variations of this, sometimes with an emphasis in the ‘gh’ – somewhat similar to how you would pronounce Pittsburgh. Others will be aware of the silent ‘gh’ but overcompensate to Edinboro – I expect this is down to people hearing the word pronounced by Scottish people who roll their Rs.

Don’t be surprised to hear some of the locals tweak the pronunciation even further, Embra or even EdinBraw may crop up (the latter mostly by us, but feel free to adopt it hashtag EdinBraw)
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More about it: https://www.edinbraw.com/edinburgh-edinborough-edinboro/
 
I might create a poll once: "How do you pronounce Edinburgh"?
I am sure there would be a lot of different answers.
Some day - maybe - or maybe not. :)

Or you may just answer this question right here in this thread. :)
 
ataraxia said:
Hey Giovanni, glad to know we finally got it right!
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And what about calling a John "Hans" or "Johannes" - or even "Hänsel" like in Hänsel and Gretel? :)
 
EMNofSeattle said:
Well is it though? Years ago I took Spanish lessons from a Chilean woman and she pronounced my name in a way I thought was wrong and I corrected her, then years later I went to Norway (my name is Norwegian) and I learned my name in the Norwegian language is pronounced just how my Chilean Spanish teacher pronounced it
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That now reminds me of the name "Siobhan". :)
Who knows how to pronounce it? :)
 
ClaraD said:
Countries no, but if you try saying it in its proper form and get it wrong you will be corrected. However, if you are swapping people's names, yes, they will be offended and rightfully so. For instance, my name is Clara. It is Clara, not Claire...and I will be pissed as hell if you tell me well in English its....because, no my name is Clara not Claire.
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I have never been offended if somebody used the English or Spanish or italian or even Latin form of my name .... etc etc etc .... :)
 
Rumpel said:
And what about calling a John "Hans" or "Johannes" - or even "Hänsel" like in Hänsel and Gretel? :)
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Yeah really. I understand the Arabs say it as “Yahya”- closest to the German pronounciation of Johann. I heard this from a Lebanese Arab Christian once. For example in the Arabic translation of the Bible John the Baptist or John the Apostle are referred to as Yahya.
 
If it come to popes, then Pope John is always only "Papst Johannes" in German, and never "Papst Hans" or even "Papst Hänsel". :)
 
Rumpel said:
Lest you forget:
It is political correctness to maintain that we should name every country and nation and people and town by exactly the same name as they use themselves.
That would be "a point of Honour and Politeness!"
You can read and hear this again and again.

And in this thread we have undertaken to de-mask this "correctness" as the nonsense that it is.
And we have made good progress so far. :)
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Whatever floats your boat, man...lol... I don't worked up about political correctness...I'm just not that into being an asshole, when a simple choice of words would help me avoid it...doesn't cost me anything. :)

The practice you're clutching came from a time when people were poor and stupid and didn't travel much. I doubt this will continue much longer...pretty soon it won't matter, much like it doesn't matter today.
 
Rumpel said:
I have never been offended if somebody used the English or Spanish or italian or even Latin form of my name .... etc etc etc .... :)
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its disrespectful. If someone called my son July instead of Julio they also would be quickly corrected. His name is Julio.
 
I have sometimes been called "Professore Bernardo", though I am neither Professore nor Professor. :)
It was done in good humour.
And I think it has a nice ring to it and I didn't complain. :)
 
OlNate said:
The practice you're clutching came from a time when people were poor and stupid and didn't travel much.
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Let us agree to dis-agree. :)
 
Rumpel said:
Is it really "impolite" that some peoples and countries have different names in different languages?

Again and again one can read comments that go like this:
"For me it is a point of honour and politeness to call every country and every people by exactly the same name that it calls itself."

To which one may answer: "Are you sure? Do you really do?"

And:

May we say Hungary, or must we say Magyarország, the way the country calls itself?
May we say Wales, or must we say Cymru, the way the country calls itself?
May we say Germany, or must we say Deutschland, the way the country calls itself?

I could go on with a lot of other examples.

So now I'd like to aks these question in a poll.
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Interesting and more interesting that all those countries that have a different name than most people in the US and maybe most of the world would not recognize mostly have English names including Germany has the name 'Germany' on their sports uniforms. Why doesn't Germany have 'Deutchland' on their sports uniforms. I am sure most people would know that 'Deutchland' is the native name for Germany?
 
antiquity said:
Why doesn't Germany have 'Deutchland' on their sports uniforms. I am sure most people would know that 'Deutchland' is the native name for Germany?
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Good question! :)

I pass it on.

But I am not so sure that the whole world knows that the German names for Germany, Austria, and Switzerland are as follows:
Deutschland, Österreich, Schweiz.

Maybe "Liechtenstein" is the same the whole world over. :)
 
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