Placenames in Foreign Countries?

[Rheghead]

Why do we now say Beijing rather than Peking these days when we tend to say Munich rather than Munchen etc?

As far as I know Peking has not been banned or dropped from the English language so what's going on?

[Invisible]

Why do we now say Beijing rather than Peking these days when we tend to say Munich rather than Munchen etc?

As far as I know Peking has not been banned or dropped from the English language so what's going on?

Languages were invented so people could be different (*Dont quote me on this or go all Org World War 3 on me) like we say Paris using the s instead like many French words droppin the last letter.

according to wiki, the city has been named many things in the past. Perhaps the got annoyed with people coming to the city looking for Peking Duck.

[riggerboy]

i went to the chinese the other day and had a lovely meal
we ordered the suprise dish, it arrived on a silver tray with one of those silver lids on it, the waiter set it in the middle of the table, i noticed that every 10 seconds or so the lid would lift and i could see a pair of eyes looking out,

concerned about it i asked the waiter and his reply was












its peking duck

sorry couldna help masel

[davie]

Its all down to Johnny Foreigner and these damn Colonials flexing their muscles now that the World Map is no longer a sea of red.

This would never have happened under the Ould Queen I tells thee, we would have sent a gunboat tout suite to sort them out.

[northener]

Its all down to Johnny Foreigner and these damn Colonials flexing their muscles now that the World Map is no longer a sea of red.

This would never have happened under the Ould Queen I tells thee, we would have sent a gunboat tout suite to sort them out.

I agree, old chap. One does not hear those Frenchy types saying 'London' they say 'Londres' because even though they are a bunch of ignorant, seditious, republican Frogs, at least they have the sense not to get bogged down in silly PC-speak.

And yes, gunboat policy never hurt anyone, bring it on!

[jock leith]

I have travelled all over our great big world and get mad with "Brits" who you meet in foreign lands.They try to tell the locals how their town name should be pronounced and,refuse to try the local food.
On a trip to Venice a few years ago we went on a trip which included a meal and this one guy kept on asking the guide where McDonalds was,people like that gives us all a bad name,others in Spain never go to local beauty spots and spend 2 weeks going from the beach to hotel to pub moaning about the UK all the time.
All the people I have met abroad really appreciate visitors trying to talk their language and tasting their food.
We are not the great global power we once were,adapt or stay at home
JDL

[golach]

I as a seaman called into Bombay now it is called Mumbai, I at first thought, oh those uppity natives, they get independance and go and change every thing, I since found out it was those English Wallahs that changed it from Mumbai first

[Rheghead]

I as a seaman called into Bombay now it is called Mumbai, I at first thought, oh those uppity natives, they get independance and go and change every thing, I since found out it was those English Wallahs that changed it from Mumbai first

As always my curiosity got the better of me and I looked that up on Wikipedia, not quite as simple as that but I think the English are innocent this time, blame the Portuguese!

[golach]

As always my curiosity got the better of me and I looked that up on Wikipedia, not quite as simple as that but I think the English are innocent this time, blame the Portuguese!

I hate smart Engelanders

[davie]

Not only in India that this happens.
We used to have Dun Eideann and these Sassenuchs change it to Edinburgh - even worse in the Colonies - they made it Dunedin.
Not to show favouritism whatever happened to Glaschu - however did that become Glasgow ?.

[Rheghead]

Not only in India that this happens.
We used to have Dun Eideann and these Sassenuchs change it to Edinburgh - even worse in the Colonies - they made it Dunedin.

Edinburgh is historically Sassenach.

Why would the Gaels call Edinburgh Dun Eideann after the Northumbrian king? Have you thought the possibility that the Edinburgh name pre-existed Dun Eideann which is simply a Gaelic translation and any changes of the English name into the final form of Edinburgh occurred from within rather than from without?

[davie]

Rheggie, you had me stumped there but a search on the web came up with this

Here it is :

There is evidence of Bronze Age and Iron Age settlements, and in Roman times the site was occupied by Celts. In 617 the site was captured by Edwin, King of Northumbria, and the CITY TOOK ITS NAME FROM THE FORTRESS OF DIN EIDEN that he built there. King Malcolm Canmore built Edinburgh Castle in the 11th century, his son David I built Holyrood Abbey (1128), and the town grew between the two sites. Robert the Bruce made Edinburgh the Scottish capital in 1325, and held a parliament at Holyrood in 1327. Two years later he made the city a burgh and established a port at Leith. The English held Edinburgh for several years and it was only the outbreak of war between England and France in 1337 that allowed the Scots to regain their lost territory. It did not become a walled city until 1437. In 1544 and 1547 the city was destroyed by the English. It adopted the Protestant faith early in the Reformation, and Calvinism thrived there in the 16th century under the teaching of John Knox. After the union with England in 1707, Edinburgh lost political importance, but remained culturally dominant – during the 18th century the city was known as the ‘Athens of the North’ due to its concentration of intellectual talent. Jacobites – supporters of the Stuart dynasty – made attempts to take Edinburgh in the rebellions of 1715 and 1745, but were unable to take the castle, despite ruling the city September–October 1745.

You were correct about the Sassenuch influence, I never knew that or if I did I had forgotten !.

[northener]

I have travelled all over our great big world and get mad with "Brits" who you meet in foreign lands.They try to tell the locals how their town name should be pronounced and,refuse to try the local food.
On a trip to Venice a few years ago we went on a trip which included a meal and this one guy kept on asking the guide where McDonalds was,people like that gives us all a bad name,others in Spain never go to local beauty spots and spend 2 weeks going from the beach to hotel to pub moaning about the UK all the time.
All the people I have met abroad really appreciate visitors trying to talk their language and tasting their food.
We are not the great global power we once were,adapt or stay at home
JDL

You get it on all levels. I've lost count of the number of eejits abroad who whine if someone doesn't speak English.

There's an excellent Monty Python sketch about Brits abroad...I'll see if I can find it.

[golach]

– during the 18th century the city was known as the ‘Athens of the North’ due to its concentration of intellectual talent. You were correct about the Sassenuch influence, I never knew that or if I did I had forgotten !.

There is a awful lot you forgot Davie the period from 1501 onwards, Mary Queen o' Scots and many other bittys of Auld Reekies history.
but I beg to differ why Edinburgh became known as "The Athens of the North", I was taught that William Playfair one of the main architects of the New Town, got the city its nickname as most of his buildings are designed with a heavy Greek influence, and as he designed many of the public buildings such as the Royal Scottish Academy of Art and the National Gallery of Art to name just two in the obvious Greek style.

[davie]

There is a awful lot you forgot Davie the period from 1501 onwards, Mary Queen o' Scots and many other bittys of Auld Reekies history.
but I beg to differ why Edinburgh became known as "The Athens of the North", I was taught that William Playfair one of the main architects of the New Town, got the city its nickname as most of his buildings are designed with a heavy Greek influence, and as he designed many of the public buildings such as the Royal Scottish Academy of Art and the National Gallery of Art to name just two in the obvious Greek style.

Dont go blaming me now !.

I plaigarised that bit direct from the net but just to check it out I have now looked up the said William Playfair and from what is said about him you could well be right about the 'Athens of the North'.

Amazing what you can discover on the .org

[oldmarine]

Why do we now say Beijing rather than Peking these days when we tend to say Munich rather than Munchen etc?

As far as I know Peking has not been banned or dropped from the English language so what's going on?

Rheghead: Good to see you back on the org after your long bicycle trip. I was in North China at the close of WW2 when I was with the US Marines. If my memory is correct, Beijing of today was then called Peiping. It had previously been called Peking and renamed Peiping by the Chinese Nationalists. Some how it got changed back to Peking and then renamed Beijing by the Communist party after they won China from the Nationalists. The Nationalist government did very little for the Chinese people, who in turn, turned to the Communists. After the ruler and founder of the Chinese communist party did some unfavorable things for the chinese people died, the party and country has been taken over by leaders with better heads and minds who have made the country a strong world competitor. That's the best of the history of later-days China (including Peking, Beijing or whatever) that I can offer.

[Bazeye]

Barrow in Furness is pronounced Barrow in Furnace by locals. Other folk pronounce it phonetically, which gives the impression to them were somewhere near Inverness. the shortened version is pronounced locally as Barra. Was at a party in Thurso a few years ago and a lad i was talking to thought i was from the Hebrides, no wonder we had difficulty understanding each other. Or was it the fact we were both hammered?

[Invisible]

why do we pronounce Forss by Thurso, force - surely more like forz and then the same for Forse by Lybster.

I know its not foreign but Milngavie by Glasgow is pronounced as Mulguy.

[Olin]

If we're playing the pronounciation game again then let me remind you of the place "ArdGAY" not Ard GUY

lol

Like my music teacher used to teach us:

G for Gnome
K for Knife
P for Psycho

lol

[davie]

I know its not foreign but Milngavie by Glasgow is pronounced as Mulguy.

Of course its foreign - anything south of Lybster is foreign !.

This is not only attributable to foreign lands like Milngavie and Beijing and Ardgay - why is Week pronounced as Week and Thirsa pronounced as Thirsa or e' toon ?