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In a way it's understandable that people like seeing their country called in their own language. But isn't that actually more a sign of irrelevance than a sign
by usrusr 4y ago
In a way it's understandable that people like seeing their country called in their own language. But isn't that actually more a sign of irrelevance than a sign of status? A village does not have a toponym in any other language, but famous cities tend to have, and those who don't might be a bit short on history.
How about https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_Germany https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_Germany ?
(yes, we consider ourselves lucky that noone calls the country by what it's most famous for)
- kgeist 4y agoIt's true that the older and more famous a placename, the more likely it is to have different forms in neighboring languages. All languages evolve phonetically, and during the course of this evolution, the pronunciation of all words changes (independently in every language), including (especially) toponyms which were borrowed 500-1000 years ago. It's a sad misconception that if a toponym is pronounced differently, then it means it's "butchered". I think it's part of our common history and it should be embraced, not erased.
- usrusr 4y agoYeah, the truly interesting part is where you make the cutoff in regions where borders shifted. Straßburg instead of Strasbourg hopefully doesn't get perceived as a claim to the place and neither should Danzig, but I'd rather write Kaliningrad because those people are so damn thin-skinned, bordering on paranoia (they might even feel threatened by the letters Sank Petersburg, even if that can't possibly mean anything other than respect). But random villages that used to have a name in a language that isn't spoken there anymore? Hands off, unless you desperately want to sound "that way" (you shouldn't!). In an explicitly historical context, you should at least acknowledge the current name.
- kgeist 4y ago>but I'd rather write Kaliningrad because those people are so damn thin-skinned, bordering on paranoia In Kaliningrad, the locals colloquially call their city Koenig (short for Koenigsberg), they're totally fine with it. Although, the context matters, of course.
- usrusr 4y agoNice to hear that, I guess it shouldn't be surprising that people who actually live there might be less concerned about a hypothetical reclaim than people hundreds of kilometers away. If you only know it from the map (well, that's also me) that's a what-if not rooted in reality one way or the other at all.
- kenneth 4y agoI imagine most people in Königsburg would much rather be part of Deutschland than Россия though.
- darkhorn 4y agoIt is a sign of dictatorship. Just like in the video The Dictator.
- dolmen 4y agoYou're right. Having country names in English is mostly irrelevant.