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Japan is roughly as close to Nippon as doitsu is to Deutsch. The Germans are somewhat extreme on the exonymic spectrum, there are something like six distinct t

Japan is roughly as close to Nippon as doitsu is to Deutsch. The Germans are somewhat extreme on the exonymic spectrum, there are something like six distinct terms used in Europe for them. I've never heard one complain about it.

shiroiushi 2y ago
>Japan is roughly as close to Nippon as doitsu is to Deutsch. This is seriously ignorant. From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_Japan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_Japan "The English word for Japan came to the West from early trade routes. The early Mandarin Chinese or possibly Wu Chinese word for Japan was recorded by Marco Polo as Cipangu. The Malay and Indonesian words Jepang, Jipang, and Jepun were borrowed from non-Mandarin Chinese languages, and this Malay word was encountered by Portuguese traders in Malacca in the 16th century. It is thought the Portuguese traders were the first to bring the word to Europe. It was first recorded in English in 1577 spelled Giapan."
- samatman 2y ago
  [flagged]
- yongjik 2y ago
  In the very Wikipedia page it says: > Marco Polo called Japan 'Cipangu' around 1300, based on the Chinese name,[6] probably 日本國; 'sun source country' (compare modern Min Nan pronunciation ji̍t pún kok). The pronunciation "Japan" is from Chinese (or, to be pedantic, some Chinese language) pronunciation of 日本, which is pronounced as Nippon in Japan. It happened because the Chinese character 日 ("sun") has widely different sounds in modern languages. Probably it had an unusual sound in the old time.
  - shiroiushi 2y ago
    Yes, the name is a corruption of a Chinese name for Japan. So what's your point? Japanese is not the same language as Chinese; it isn't even related linguistically other than borrowing part of its writing system. It's basically like making up a name for the UK based on a corruption of what the Romans called it 2000 years ago, and then trying to claim this is similar to what Britons call it today.
    - deleted 2y ago
      [deleted]
    - fsckboy 2y ago
      2000 years ago, the Romans called it Brittania

shiroiushi 2y ago

>Japan is roughly as close to Nippon as doitsu is to Deutsch. This is seriously ignorant. From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_Japan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_Japan "The English word for Japan came to the West from early trade routes. The early Mandarin Chinese or possibly Wu Chinese word for Japan was recorded by Marco Polo as Cipangu. The Malay and Indonesian words Jepang, Jipang, and Jepun were borrowed from non-Mandarin Chinese languages, and this Malay word was encountered by Portuguese traders in Malacca in the 16th century. It is thought the Portuguese traders were the first to bring the word to Europe. It was first recorded in English in 1577 spelled Giapan."

samatman 2y ago
[flagged]
yongjik 2y ago
In the very Wikipedia page it says: > Marco Polo called Japan 'Cipangu' around 1300, based on the Chinese name,[6] probably 日本國; 'sun source country' (compare modern Min Nan pronunciation ji̍t pún kok). The pronunciation "Japan" is from Chinese (or, to be pedantic, some Chinese language) pronunciation of 日本, which is pronounced as Nippon in Japan. It happened because the Chinese character 日 ("sun") has widely different sounds in modern languages. Probably it had an unusual sound in the old time.
- shiroiushi 2y ago
  Yes, the name is a corruption of a Chinese name for Japan. So what's your point? Japanese is not the same language as Chinese; it isn't even related linguistically other than borrowing part of its writing system. It's basically like making up a name for the UK based on a corruption of what the Romans called it 2000 years ago, and then trying to claim this is similar to what Britons call it today.
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
  - fsckboy 2y ago
    2000 years ago, the Romans called it Brittania