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From: fll4dav@leeds.ac.uk (D.A. Voss)
Subject: Re: need English names of non-English cities and countries
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Date: Wed, 14 Jun 1995 17:06:56 +0100 (BST)
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    <1995Jun11.125241@ccuab>
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In article <1995Jun11.125241@ccuab> emffl@cc.uab.es writes:

>In article <D9pwu0.9qq@actcom.co.il>, bruck@actcom.co.il (Uri Bruck) writes:

>> I am looking for information on English names of non-English
>> cities and countries, for someone who is writing an article about 
>> the subject.

>Well, my anecdotal information is that names are political issues.  You must
>have read that "Bombay" (English name) is formally changing its name to
>"Mumbai"; this is because British colonialism imposed a spelling based on
>what the local name sounded like to British ears.

The same has happened in Burma, called the Union of Myanmar since ?1989.  The 
English forms are no longer used, so that "Rangoon" has become 'Yangon', etc.  

English texts used the German "Strassburg" for Strasbourg at least up until 
the First World War, although it usually depends on the point of view from 
which you are looking.  The English text of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles 
opts for the compromise of "Strasburg", I think.

The only three towns in France which are different in (British) English are:
"Dunkirk" for Dunkerque
"Lyons" for Lyon
"Marseilles" for Marseille

The usual English name for Basel / B^ale is "Basle", which has retained the 
"s" which is still obvious in the German, and yet is pronounced without it, as 
in the French.

"Tonga" is regularly referred to as the Friendly Islands by its English 
speakers.

Different English names are used alongside the Welsh names on road-signs 
throughout Wales, e.g. "Cardiff" for Caerdydd.  Some of these are neatly
literal, e.g. "Bridgend" for "Pen-y-Bont", but the Welsh name for "Whitchurch" 
is actually "Yr Eglwys Newydd", i.e. 'new' church rather than 'white'.
 
Continuing the Celtic theme, "Dublin" for Baile Atha Cliath, among many others.

>How about "the English Channel" for "la Manche"? (In Spanish it's "el canal
>de la Mancha", BTW).

"Strait of Dover" for Pas de Calais
"Channel Islands" for les ^Iles Anglo-Normandes

In English's defence, a few cases where we don't translate/anglicize yet 
others do:

San Marino     cf. French "Saint-Marin"
Ecuador          cf. French "Equateur"
Nova Scotia    cf. German "Neuschottland"

Apparently, since 1986 only "C^ote d'Ivoire" has been correct for referring 
to the Ivory Coast, although I'm not sure of the basis for this.

All the best!

David

**************
David A Voss

FLL4DAV@leeds.ac.uk
c/o Dept of French, University of Leeds, U.K.

(E&OE!)

DAVID A VOSS
fll4dav@leeds.ac.uk
