I'm surprised New Zealand has not yet sued the New Zealand Mint, which is a private mint, for its use of the country's name. IMHO it's actually giving a bad image to New Zealand. I'm sure I'm not the only one who assumed, as I stumbled on their website (when looking for Platinum Jubilee issues), that it was some sort of Crown Corporation of the state of New Zealand.
I didn't even consider the possibility it was private. I suppose this is what happens when one's national mint ─the Royal Canadian Mint in my case─ bombards you monthly with new oddities.
As for "Türkiye", Erdoğan should have consulted with linguists first. There is no "ü" sound in English, and the "...iye" ending is foreign to the phonology of English. If you want a name change, you need to find a name and spelling that is acceptable in English.
Imagine if Croatia, for whatever reason, wanted the rest of the world to use their official Croatian name, Hrvatska?!
I believe Ivory Coast officially requested it’s international name in English be recognized as Côte d’Ivoire. There is no “ô” in English and the name looks unpronounceable to anyone not familiar with French. But I don’t recall much uproar about that
Quote: "ashlobo"There is no “ô” in English and the name looks unpronounceable to anyone not familiar with French. But I don’t recall much uproar about that
Then look at any talk page of Wikipedia
I and most people I know will still call the Côte d’Ivoire -> Elfenbeinküste, eSwatini -> Swasiland, Moldau -> Moldavien, Beijing -> Peking and many others.
The newest fad from the public media is calling Weißrussland Belarus because the don't want to look like they are part of Russia. Strange that they act like a puppet anyway.
Quote: "ashlobo"There is no “ô” in English and the name looks unpronounceable to anyone not familiar with French. But I don’t recall much uproar about that
Then look at any talk page of Wikipedia
I and most people I know will still call the Côte d’Ivoire -> Elfenbeinküste, eSwatini -> Swasiland, Moldau -> Moldavien, Beijing -> Peking and many others.
The newest fad from the public media is calling Weißrussland Belarus because the don't want to look like they are part of Russia. Strange that they act like a puppet anyway.
Not sure what a Wikipedia talk page is. If it’s some kind of comment section, in that case don’t you know you should never read the comment section of anything. It’s a cess pool of people ranting because they lack some meaning in their real lives
Quote: "ashlobo"There is no “ô” in English and the name looks unpronounceable to anyone not familiar with French. But I don’t recall much uproar about that
The newest fad from the public media is calling Weißrussland Belarus because the don't want to look like they are part of Russia. Strange that they act like a puppet anyway.
Yes. If I'm not mistaken the "Бел-а-" part in Беларусь (Belarus) means "white" = "weiß" (бел-ый / бел-ая).
But I suppose the real problem is the dictator ruling Belarus, not the people, and there are reports that Belarussian rail workers have sabotaged their own railways into Ukraine to stop the flow of Russian military equipment and supplies.
Quote: "Camerinvs"I'm surprised New Zealand has not yet sued the New Zealand Mint, which is a private mint, for its use of the country's name. IMHO it's actually giving a bad image to New Zealand. I'm sure I'm not the only one who assumed, as I stumbled on their website (when looking for Platinum Jubilee issues), that it was some sort of Crown Corporation of the state of New Zealand.
I didn't even consider the possibility it was private. I suppose this is what happens when one's national mint ─the Royal Canadian Mint in my case─ bombards you monthly with new oddities.
As for "Türkiye", Erdoğan should have consulted with linguists first. There is no "ü" sound in English, and the "...iye" ending is foreign to the phonology of English. If you want a name change, you need to find a name and spelling that is acceptable in English.
Imagine if Croatia, for whatever reason, wanted the rest of the world to use their official Croatian name, Hrvatska?!
This I agree with immensely, sure I can understand the desire to change the name from Turkey to something else, but why bother if what they propose to change it into not only isn't going to be proper English, but just sounds almost like Turkey anyway! I can only see this new name being used in text, I highly doubt anyone will bother trying to pronounce it properly. It's going to sound like Turkey.
Besides, they could just use another completely different word since the english words for different countries are usually massively different.
Shqipëria = Albania
Hrvatska = Croatia
Magyar = Hungary
The turkish name, and the english name can't be the same, it doesn't make any sense. I wish they put more effort into this. Imagine if other countries of the world decided they wanted their countries to be referred to, in english, by their native names, I barely know anyone who can say Deutschland properly let alone spell it.
Why is this an issue - English is not the only language in the world. Mandarin, Arabic and Spanish now are spoken by more people and I suspect Hindi may have more speakers now too.
Plus I think any country has the right to its name in a language that suits them rather than us. India has done well by be now known as Bharat and the cities changed to Kolkata, Chennai and Mumbai from the old Calcutta, Madras and Bombay.
NZ Mint, well who cares really - given our PC mad government, its not long until we change from New Zealand to the "People's Democratic and Socialist Republic of Aotearoa". What about Westminster mint, they issue overpriced garbage and granny bait coins, yet no one is up in arms about that - as Westminster is seat of the English government and Franklin Mint is named after a founding father of the USA.
There seems to be this wave of PC mad, snowflakey SJW threads lately and I do not know why. We all need to relax and take a chill pill.
Anyone heard of these places? (Apologies for poor spelling) Rossiya, Zhonghua Yinhang Remin, Respublika Hvartskaya, Ceska Republika, Polska, Deutschland, Espana, Brasil, Cabo Verde, Myanmar, Eswatini.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
English is the new Latin, which was in its day the new Greek.
"Egypt" is of course descended from the latin and before that greek name for that country.
"Turkey" has the same etymology.
Jamais l'or n'a perdu la plus petite occasion de se montrer stupide. -Balzac
"Why Turkeys Are Named After Turkey
When the Spanish arrived in Mexico in the 16th century they encountered the already-domesticated common turkey, Meleagris gallopavo. They apparently liked the bird; turkeys were among the plunder they took back to Spain around 1519. By 1541, the birds had arrived in England. In those days the Turkish Ottoman Empire was at its peak, and the English had Turkey (with a capital-T) on their mind. The English gave the Turks credit for any number of new imports: maize was Turkish wheat, and pumpkins were Turkish cucumbers—though both were actually New World plants. To paraphrase Cindy Ott in her 2012 book Pumpkin: The Curious History of an American Icon, if it was exotic, chances are it got a Turkish appellation. So the new bird was soon being called a turkey-cock, eventually shortened to turkey."
Maybe Turkey should campaign for changing the name of the bird instead of its name, since the country usage, even if foreign and not official, preceded the bird's current name.
"Meaning: To be a turkey is an expression used when someone is trying to call someone thoughtless or even a fool. It’s not a nice thing to say, but it’s used commonly to avoid using stronger or more profane language."
Quote: "Moneytane"Why is this an issue - English is not the only language in the world. Mandarin, Arabic and Spanish now are spoken by more people and I suspect Hindi may have more speakers now too.
Plus I think any country has the right to its name in a language that suits them rather than us. India has done well by be now known as Bharat and the cities changed to Kolkata, Chennai and Mumbai from the old Calcutta, Madras and Bombay.
NZ Mint, well who cares really - given our PC mad government, its not long until we change from New Zealand to the "People's Democratic and Socialist Republic of Aotearoa". What about Westminster mint, they issue overpriced garbage and granny bait coins, yet no one is up in arms about that - as Westminster is seat of the English government and Franklin Mint is named after a founding father of the USA.
There seems to be this wave of PC mad, snowflakey SJW threads lately and I do not know why. We all need to relax and take a chill pill.
Anyone heard of these places? (Apologies for poor spelling) Rossiya, Zhonghua Yinhang Remin, Respublika Hvartskaya, Ceska Republika, Polska, Deutschland, Espana, Brasil, Cabo Verde, Myanmar, Eswatini.
Because they're specifically trying to change the English translation specifically, not the Mandarin, not the Arabic and not the Spanish word for their country, just the English one.
Quote: "Moneytane"Why is this an issue - English is not the only language in the world. Mandarin, Arabic and Spanish now are spoken by more people and I suspect Hindi may have more speakers now too.
Plus I think any country has the right to its name in a language that suits them rather than us. India has done well by be now known as Bharat and the cities changed to Kolkata, Chennai and Mumbai from the old Calcutta, Madras and Bombay.
NZ Mint, well who cares really - given our PC mad government, its not long until we change from New Zealand to the "People's Democratic and Socialist Republic of Aotearoa". What about Westminster mint, they issue overpriced garbage and granny bait coins, yet no one is up in arms about that - as Westminster is seat of the English government and Franklin Mint is named after a founding father of the USA.
There seems to be this wave of PC mad, snowflakey SJW threads lately and I do not know why. We all need to relax and take a chill pill.
Anyone heard of these places? (Apologies for poor spelling) Rossiya, Zhonghua Yinhang Remin, Respublika Hvartskaya, Ceska Republika, Polska, Deutschland, Espana, Brasil, Cabo Verde, Myanmar, Eswatini.
Because they're specifically trying to change the English translation specifically, not the Mandarin, not the Arabic and not the Spanish word for their country, just the English one.
It is only the fruitcake excuse of a human being that is Erdogan - trying to dictate how to express Turkey's name in English.
The turkeys thrive in the wild in my area. A few days ago a flock of turkeys stopped traffic in both directions on a road I travel on my commute to work. Some were trotting across the road way, some were leaping up and flying over us.
People were taking pictures, very much improved the evening drive. They are wonderfully colored like a rainbow toned copper penny.
Jamais l'or n'a perdu la plus petite occasion de se montrer stupide. -Balzac
In Portuguese, the bird is called "peru". The birds were common in Mexico, and "Peru" was a long time ago used as a synecdoche for the whole Spanish America.
Here in Brazil, we joke about Peru's name, but not because of the animal (it's a slang for another word starting with letter P).
Anyway, "Türkiye" may be good for branding (avoiding a name clash, for example, in search engines), but I think it'll be pronounced more or less the same (so puns may continue, anyway) and it can take decades until the new name "catch" (Brazilian government basically surrendered using "Brasil" with S in English).
The weirdest name I heard was "Muktawakelite Kingdom of ..." To me that sounds like a type of plastic.
"The Muktawakelite brand of serving bowls features the finest and most hygenic superplastics to ensure food is kept fresh and palatble and the bowls are easy to clean and reuse"
Humour - snowflakes and PC mob.
PS - Chris Rock deserved to be slapped, you don't make fun of someone for being bald because of a medical condition, Jada went bare headed and Rock dissed her in front of the whole world.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
Quote: "Moneytane"PS - Chris Rock deserved to be slapped, you don't make fun of someone for being bald because of a medical condition, Jada went bare headed and Rock dissed her in front of the whole world.
Humor has been dead for a while now, but if we've reached a point where a comedian can't make fun of a celebrity without being physically assaulted on stage, comedy is gone for good.
Grown adults, wasting their mental effort on concepts like "dissing" as though the real world is a prison yard. Humor once kept egos in check, to such an extent that kings hired someone to employ brutal humor against them for the very purpose. The whole world could use - and richly deserves - an uproar of laughter and ridicule, now more than ever.
Especially celebrities. What a bunch of hopeless buffoons.
Quote: "Mr. Midnight"Also,'Greece' for Ελλάδα
The turkey is an entirely admirable creature, I don't know why it should be an an embarrassing comparison.
Greece has several names in both English & Greek.
'Ellas' is one of those names in Greek.
Cyprus has 'Kypros' in Cypriot Greek & 'Kibris' in Cypriot Turkish.
I found out yesterday that the Finnish name for their neighbor to the East is Venäjä ─ nothing that sounds like Russia. Not sure why since in Russian it is, indeed, Rossiya (Россия).
As for the Oscars' drama on Sunday, all I saw was a 5-second clip of the slap on Twitter in slow motion. I agree with those who say it was set up. The guy who is slapped, instinctively, starts moving away too early from the "slapper", as he knows what's coming. But even more important, his facial expression doesn't change at the same time as his body language. He should look surprised or dismayed, but is facial expression doesn't change.
Quote: "Idolenz"Venäjä is a borrowing from Proto-Germanic *winidaz (Wend, “Slav”).
Ah, interesting!
And by the way, I don't think there is any country with more various names than Germany:
Deutschland and Duitsland (Dutch)
Germany and Germania (many languages, including Russian Германия and Urdu جرمنی)
Allemagne-Alemanya-Alemania (French-Catalan-Spanish; same in Arabic ألمانيا)
Saksa (Finish, from Saxen I suppose = Saxony!) and Saksamaa (Estonian)
Vokietija (Lithuanian) and Vācija (Latvian) ─ no idea what the root is of these last two!
In Italian, Germania, but German (the adjective) is tedesco!! I drink German coffee in Germany = Bevo caffè tedesco in Germania.
Quote: "leopiccionia"Deutsch and tedesco are cognates. They ultimately come from Proto-Germanic þeudō, that's also the origin of Teutonic... and Dutch.
True, though I never thought about Dutch and how it is also connected to this same root.
In the case of Italian, we have the noun/substantive and adjective coming through two very different origins, which is unusual.
Yet since Greece─Ηελλας was mentioned, we do have the adjective Hellenic beside Greek, while you now find Grecian only in very old books (e.g. "a Grecian vase").
The Arabs call it "Ionia" based on the Ionian Sea I suppose.
Another little fun fact for the linguistically inclined: In Finnish "France" is Ranska since their phonology doesn't allow two consonants at the start of a word. It's true also in Arabic, but they dealt with it by adding a vowel: Faransa.
This is the kind of things Erdoğan doesn't understand. By the way, it is thanks to Mustafa Kemal "Atatürk" that the Turkish language is now written in the Latin alphabet. It used to be written with the Arabic alphabet, which coin collectors generally know. But why the change? Modernization, and also from the linguistic point of view, Turkish is rich in vowels (a / e / i / ı /o / ö / u / ü) unlike Arabic (a + aa / i + ii / u + uu).
Quote: "Mr. Midnight"The turkeys thrive in the wild in my area. A few days ago a flock of turkeys stopped traffic in both directions on a road I travel on my commute to work. Some were trotting across the road way, some were leaping up and flying over us.
People were taking pictures, very much improved the evening drive. They are wonderfully colored like a rainbow toned copper penny.
You too - on my way back from the coin show last Sunday, three turkeys were crossing the street in the residential area of town, with not a care or worry in the world. I have never seen turkeys in my city before and I have lived here 17 years.
. It’s a cess pool of people ranting because they lack some meaning in their real lives 
