4 ms·

Well it is also weird that we can just call Japan Japan or Germany Germany all the time as those aren't those countries' names, yet we still do it. http://www.

Well it is also weird that we can just call Japan Japan or Germany Germany all the time as those aren't those countries' names, yet we still do it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9VMY8X9rU8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9VMY8X9rU8

cli 12y ago
This is different, as Nihon University and All Nippon Airways already have official English names.
- maaku 12y ago
  Meh, to someone who actually speaks Japanese it's not so clear cut. The word for Japan is 日本, pronounced "nihon" or "nippon" but never "japan". But every Japanese person would know that for whatever reason "japan" is the word English speakers use to refer to their country. So to someone who speaks Japanese, "Japan University" and "Nihon University" are the same thing. They are both obviously referring to 日本大学. "Japan University" is only technically a wrong transliteration if you insist on an editorial policy of using an organization's official English name. However to someone who doesn't know Japanese, "Japan University" is a better translation because it reflects the actual connotation of 日本大学 a native speaker would recognize -- "University of Japan."
  - cli 12y ago
    I speak enough Japanese to know this, but I still disagree. These organizations have an official and well known English name, and these English articles were written for English speakers, not Japanese speakers. It would be like calling China "Middle/Central Nation/Country", or just calling it Zhongguo.
    - maaku 12y ago
      No, it'd be like calling Zhongguo University "China University." Can you see how that is qualitatively different?
      - cli 12y ago
        Is Zhongguo University the official English name of that university? If so, then no. The only actual university I can find with that sort of name is Zhonghuarenmin university, which has the official English name of Renmin University of China.
kazinator 12y ago
That is called an "exonym". Many languages have them. In Slovakia, the St. Lawrence River forming part of the border between Canada and the USA is called "Rieka svätého Vavrinca": http://sk.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rieka_sv%C3%A4t%C3%A9ho_Vavrinca http://sk.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rieka_sv%C3%A4t%C3%A9ho_Vavrinc...
- smcl 12y ago
  Well that's a direct translation of the name and using the Czech/Slovak version of Lawrence/Laurence/Laurent. Rieka = river Svaty = saint Vavřinec = lawrence A bit of fiddling around to connect the words together correctly (slavic languages are odd in this regard) and you get "Rieka svätého Vavrinca" note: I speak awful Czech and even worse Slovak :)

cli 12y ago

This is different, as Nihon University and All Nippon Airways already have official English names.

maaku 12y ago
Meh, to someone who actually speaks Japanese it's not so clear cut. The word for Japan is 日本, pronounced "nihon" or "nippon" but never "japan". But every Japanese person would know that for whatever reason "japan" is the word English speakers use to refer to their country. So to someone who speaks Japanese, "Japan University" and "Nihon University" are the same thing. They are both obviously referring to 日本大学. "Japan University" is only technically a wrong transliteration if you insist on an editorial policy of using an organization's official English name. However to someone who doesn't know Japanese, "Japan University" is a better translation because it reflects the actual connotation of 日本大学 a native speaker would recognize -- "University of Japan."
- cli 12y ago
  I speak enough Japanese to know this, but I still disagree. These organizations have an official and well known English name, and these English articles were written for English speakers, not Japanese speakers. It would be like calling China "Middle/Central Nation/Country", or just calling it Zhongguo.
  - maaku 12y ago
    No, it'd be like calling Zhongguo University "China University." Can you see how that is qualitatively different?
    - cli 12y ago
      Is Zhongguo University the official English name of that university? If so, then no. The only actual university I can find with that sort of name is Zhonghuarenmin university, which has the official English name of Renmin University of China.

kazinator 12y ago

That is called an "exonym". Many languages have them. In Slovakia, the St. Lawrence River forming part of the border between Canada and the USA is called "Rieka svätého Vavrinca": http://sk.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rieka_sv%C3%A4t%C3%A9ho_Vavrinca http://sk.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rieka_sv%C3%A4t%C3%A9ho_Vavrinc...

smcl 12y ago
Well that's a direct translation of the name and using the Czech/Slovak version of Lawrence/Laurence/Laurent. Rieka = river Svaty = saint Vavřinec = lawrence A bit of fiddling around to connect the words together correctly (slavic languages are odd in this regard) and you get "Rieka svätého Vavrinca" note: I speak awful Czech and even worse Slovak :)