World Names

where in the world?

2007-01-24T01:51:00.000-08:00

oh my ...
I'm in backpacking in Mueng Thai
bet you don't know where that is?
Neither did I 'till I got here

Flew into Krung Thep
and spent a few days
before heading to Koh Phanang

Which brings me to a recurring question...
why don't we call places what the people there call them?
I think we need to change that!
(Since our family is in a name changing phase)

So, from now on, no more anglizing
or francaisizing or anykind of -izing..
Let's call places by their proper name.
In this, I need
you
who are somewhere in the world
and know what the true name is...

Please email me at worldnames@gmail.com
and tell me where in the world you are!

Where you really are...

...

we can say it!

2006-02-14T01:48:00.000-08:00

During the Torino Olympics in 2006, I posted this to my blog....

Where the heck is Turin? Are you as confused as me about where Turin is?

If you look on a map of Italy, there is no such place. The town referred to as Turin is actually called Torino. If you travel to the Peidmont region in Italia, all signs read Torino.

Place names is an issue that I have pondered for many years. Why don't we call a city or country by what the people who live there call it? This issue has arisen lately with the confusion of Turin and Torino. When I heard Turin, Italy on TV recently, I asked people in the room: "...but I thought the Olympics were in Torino?" We were all confused and had to look it up.

In this day and age we don't have any need to anglisize or simplify names. We can call places and people by their real names -- what the name really is. It is a bit insulting, don't you think? We can pronounce any name, even names written in other languages and alphabets. Just tell us how to say it and we can do it.

As a teacher I had many students in my class that kept their real names when they moved to Canada, the names on their birth certificates. No more need to make Man Yee a Mandy or a Sushan a Susan. We can pronounce Kon Woo and Soon as easily as Connor and Sean.

A few years back I traveled in China and visited Guangzhou. I wondered if we were close to Canton. I was already there, they told me -- Canton is now called by its rightful Chinese name -- Guangzhou. Of course it is no more difficult to say Guangzhou as it is to say Canton.

I live near Coquitlam and Tswassen, BC and no one has difficulty with those names. Some places have changed back to their native names -- the Queen Charlotte Islands are now referred to as Haida Gwaii.

We can say it! If we can pronounce people's names and place names, why on earth can't we call the city hosting the Olympics by it's real name -- Torino? And for that matter, why not just start calling every place in the world by what the people there call it.

What do you think. . . ?

...

Colleen MacDonald 2006

you said ...

2006-02-12T01:46:00.000-08:00

Hi I'm Amy, I come from Caerdydd (ki-er-deethe) its the proper (Welsh) name for Cardiff in Wales. Only 300, 000 people speak Welsh but anglicising all the city and town names doesn't help us preserve the language!

Melissa said... I've often wondered that myself. Torino sounds so much cooler than Turin. In fact, alot of city names sound better in their own language.Let's start a movement indeed!

BikerMomma said... Amen about that! My parents are both Italian, so it was actually physically painful for me to hear the city referred to as "Turin".Sign me up for the movement!

Anonymous said... actually... The region you are referring to are called "Piedmont"... Check out the Italian Tourist Board at http://www.italiantourism.com/Another town we sholuld start pronounce the correct way: København, the capital of Denmark Greetings from Norway