# Certain Languages Change The Names Of Geographic Places - Can You Provide Examples? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 28, 2005, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/certain-languages-change-the-names-of-geographic-places-can-you-provide-examples/296681 "2005-03-28T22:41:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Gymnopithys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@Gymnopithys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gymnopithys)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/certain-languages-change-the-names-of-geographic-places-can-you-provide-examples/296681/21 "2005-05-05T12:41:47Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > ```auto > > Danish Schweiz > Dutch Zwitserland > English Switzerland > Finnish Sveitsi > French Suisse > German Schweiz > Greek Ελβετία > Hungarian Svájc > Italian Svizzera > Portuguese Suíça > Spanish Suiza > Swedish Schweiz > Polish Szwajcaria > Russian Швейцария > Arabic سويسرا > Japanese スイス > > ``` Add _Svizra_ in Romansh, one of the four official languages. and _Confoederatio Helvetica_, the official name that stands for the four other designations. (Whence CH as post code, and CHF used in banking for Swiss Francs) (I like the Japanese name. We’re real squares !) 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/certain-languages-change-the-names-of-geographic-places-can-you-provide-examples/296681/22 "2005-05-05T13:05:31Z")
In German, Milan is referred to as Mailand but much better is Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast), which is something like Elfenbein Kuste (literally translated, “elephant bone coast”). Also, for what it’s worth, Krungthep\*, the capital of Thailand, is Bangkok to everyone outside of Thailand. I think Bangkok (or Bang Kok) is the original small village on the site. Bang = village, Kok = (I don’t know, but not what you’re thinking). \*The full name of the capital of Thailand is “Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Ayuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit”. Even in Thai this is a bit long to put on a t-shirt ---
**Author:** ![Gymnopithys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@Gymnopithys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gymnopithys)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/certain-languages-change-the-names-of-geographic-places-can-you-provide-examples/296681/23 "2005-05-05T13:29:28Z")
> [@Napier](#): > > Key West, the westernmost island in the Florida Keys, evolved out of the French for bone due to many animal bones there IIRC. I think the word for bone looked related to the root “osteo-”, maybe something like “ousse”, which sounds like “wes”. At lest, this is what I heard. That’s is a tortuous explanation. _Keys_ is from Spanish _cayo(s_) “shoal, islet”. Isn’t it what they are ? ---
**Author:** ![Gymnopithys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@Gymnopithys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gymnopithys)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/certain-languages-change-the-names-of-geographic-places-can-you-provide-examples/296681/24 "2005-05-05T13:41:32Z")
The United States are called by the: French _Etats-Unis_, abbreviated E.U. Spanish \*Estados Unidos \* which they abbreviate EE.UU. (the double letters meaning plural) German _Vereinigte Staaten_ Yugoslavs _Zjdinjene Drzhave_ Finns _Yhdysvallat_ Welsh _Taleithiau Cyfe_nol or _yr Unol Daleithian America_ Gaels _an t-Oilean-u_r (New Iceland) Arabs _al-Wellat al-Motaheda_ Chinese \*Mei-kuo \* (which is their pronunciation of “America”); given a Chinese etymology the name would mean “beautiful country”; it is also called _Mei zhou_, in which _mei_ “beautiful” has only a phonetical value for the accentuated syllable in America; \*zhou \* = continent. Japanese _Beikoku_ is their pronunciation of the Chinese name ! Given a Japanese etymology, the name would mean “land of the rice” which is unapplicable since the Japan used to produce much more rice than the U.S. ---
**Author:** ![UselessGit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/74df32/32.png) [@UselessGit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UselessGit)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2005, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/certain-languages-change-the-names-of-geographic-places-can-you-provide-examples/296681/25 "2005-05-07T17:05:53Z")
Doesn’t pretty much every language have its own name for Geographic places? I can’t even think of one country we call by its indigenous name here and several city names have also been “translated” (e.g. Kiev into Kaenugardur, Kobenhavn into Kaupmannahofn\*). For the record, we usually call the USA “Bandaríkin” or just “Ameríka” but the “correct” term would be “Bandaríki Norður-Ameríku” (The United States of North-America), abbreviated as BNA. We often refer to New York as “Nyja Jorvik”, mostly because York was originally called Jorvik and while your language has changed, ours hasn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Gymnopithys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@Gymnopithys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gymnopithys)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2005, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/certain-languages-change-the-names-of-geographic-places-can-you-provide-examples/296681/26 "2005-05-08T10:33:02Z")
> [@UselessGit](#): > > Doesn’t pretty much every language have its own name for Geographic places? I can’t even think of one country we call by its indigenous name here France, Chile, Bolivia, Argentina, Ecuador, Congo, Viet Nam, Kyrgyzstan and many others. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2005, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/certain-languages-change-the-names-of-geographic-places-can-you-provide-examples/296681/27 "2005-05-08T11:25:08Z")
> [@Gymnopithys](#): > > France, Chile, Bolivia, Argentina, Ecuador, Congo, Viet Nam, Kyrgyzstan and many others. To say nothing of England, Australia, Scotland, Canada, Jamaica, etc., of course. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2005, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/certain-languages-change-the-names-of-geographic-places-can-you-provide-examples/296681/28 "2005-05-08T11:53:44Z")
> [@pseudotriton ruber ruber](#): > > To say nothing of England, Australia, Scotland, Canada, Jamaica, etc., of course. Chicago, Massachusetts, … ---
**Author:** ![kiffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/d78d45/32.png) [@kiffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiffa)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2005, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/certain-languages-change-the-names-of-geographic-places-can-you-provide-examples/296681/29 "2005-05-08T17:46:52Z")
There’s the Republic of the Congo [Brazzaville is the capital city] and there is the Democratic Republic of the Congo [Kinshasa is the capital city]. Both countries are Francophone but Brazza was colonized by the French and Kinshasa by the Belgians. Both have gone thru name changes - often linked to their colonial past. Both go by Le Congo when you are incountry. A bit of trivia: Brazzaville and Kinshasa are facing each other - looking across the Congo River - and are the two closest capital cities in the world. The Congo people [tribe] live in both countries. It was easier to tell the countries apart way back when Mobutu created Zaire…based on the old portugese name for this area. Then he proceeded to ransack the country Congo/Kinshasa for any bit of wealth to put into his own pocket or to bribe any possible political opponent with a ministerial post. There’s alot more sad history to this country but this isn’t the right thread to rant and rave. ---
**Author:** ![Gymnopithys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@Gymnopithys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gymnopithys)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2005, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/certain-languages-change-the-names-of-geographic-places-can-you-provide-examples/296681/30 "2005-05-08T18:06:49Z")
> [@pseudotriton ruber ruber](#): > > To say nothing of England, Australia, Scotland, Canada, Jamaica, etc., of course. How else would they call their own country ? tell me. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2005, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/certain-languages-change-the-names-of-geographic-places-can-you-provide-examples/296681/31 "2005-05-08T18:32:59Z")
**Zimbabwe** use to be called **Rhodesia** I believe **British Honduras** is now **Belize** , but I always get those Central American countries jumbled up. ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2005, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/certain-languages-change-the-names-of-geographic-places-can-you-provide-examples/296681/32 "2005-05-08T21:03:04Z")
> [@Gymnopithys](#): > > That’s is a tortuous explanation. > _Keys_ is from Spanish _cayo(s_) “shoal, islet”. Isn’t it what they are ? From a [Florida tourism site](http://www.seefloridaonline.com/_keywest/about.html): > [@](#): > > The Spanish name for this island is Cayo Hueso, meaning “island of bones”. This name was given to the island by Spanish explorers when they found the skeletal remains of many Indians. That’s the explanation I’ve always heard. Makes more sense coming from a Spanish word than from French, since it was Spain that landed there first. ---
**Author:** ![DataZak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ea666f/32.png) [@DataZak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DataZak)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2005, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/certain-languages-change-the-names-of-geographic-places-can-you-provide-examples/296681/33 "2005-05-09T04:40:32Z")
> [@Gymnopithys](#): > > The United States are called by the: > > French _Etats-Unis_, abbreviated E.U. > Spanish \*Estados Unidos \* which they abbreviate EE.UU. (the double letters meaning plural) > German _Vereinigte Staaten_ > Yugoslavs _Zjdinjene Drzhave_ > Finns _Yhdysvallat_ > Welsh _Taleithiau Cyfe_nol or _yr Unol Daleithian America_ > Gaels _an t-Oilean-u_r (New Iceland) > Arabs _al-Wellat al-Motaheda_ > Chinese \*Mei-kuo \* (which is their pronunciation of “America”); > > \ And in Malaysia, we refer to it as _Amerika Syarikat_. IMO, a more literal translation would be _Negri-negri Bersekutu Amerika_ but the former is shorter and maybe that’s why it’s preferred over the latter. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2005, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/certain-languages-change-the-names-of-geographic-places-can-you-provide-examples/296681/34 "2005-05-09T05:07:14Z")
In Danish: Germany is _Tyskland_, where _y_ is a tightened ‘oo’ sound. I guess from the ‘Teuton’ root. The German language is _tysk_. France is _Frankrig_, =Franks kingdom (cognate to _reich_) A lot of place names end with _ien_: Italien, Belgien, Californien, etc. China=_Kina_, and Chinese is _kinesisk_. Not much of a ‘ch’ in Danish. Other pronunciation quirks mean that Hawaii comes out as _Hav-ay-ii_, and Japan as _Yapan_, which is even further from Nippon than the English version. ---
**Author:** ![DataZak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ea666f/32.png) [@DataZak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DataZak)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2005, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/certain-languages-change-the-names-of-geographic-places-can-you-provide-examples/296681/35 "2005-05-09T07:15:58Z")
In Malay: France = _Perancis_ (pronounced _Per-run-cheese_) Netherlands = _Belanda_ Spain = _Sepanyol_ Egypt = we use its Arabic name, _Mesir_ Lebanon = _Lubnan_ Saudi Arabia = _Arab Saudi_ Japan = _Jepun_ USA = As mentioned in my post above, _Amerika Syarikat_ I think that’s it. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2005, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/certain-languages-change-the-names-of-geographic-places-can-you-provide-examples/296681/36 "2005-05-09T07:17:47Z")
> [@Gymnopithys](#): > > The United States are called by the: > > Arabs _al-Wellat al-Motaheda_ Correction… al-Wilâyât al-Muttahidah. The Arabic name for the Ivory Coast is al-Sâhil al-‘Âjî, a literal translation of “the Ivory Coast.” How come Arabs and Germans can get away with translating the name into their language, but in English we’re forced to use the French version? As for the 2 Congos, I can never get the names straight. I thought the one with Brazzaville was the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Then Laurent Kabila, changing the name back from Zaire, took the name Democratic Republic of the Congo to totally confound anyone’s attempts to tell the two countries apart. Should have left it Zaire. At least the name Zaire has flair and it _wasn’t already taken._ ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2005, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/certain-languages-change-the-names-of-geographic-places-can-you-provide-examples/296681/37 "2005-05-09T12:18:43Z")
> [@Gymnopithys](#): > > > [@UselessGit](#): > > > > Doesn’t pretty much every language have its own name for Geographic places? I can’t even think of one country we call by its indigenous name **here** > > France, Chile, Bolivia, Argentina, Ecuador, Congo, Viet Nam, Kyrgyzstan and many others. > [@pseudotriton ruber ruber](#): > > > [@Gymnopithys](#): > > > > France, Chile, Bolivia, Argentina, Ecuador, Congo, Viet Nam, Kyrgyzstan and many others. > > To say nothing of England, Australia, Scotland, Canada, Jamaica, etc., of course. ( **bolding mine** ) ?? Did you two happen to notice that **UselessGit** was posting from Iceland/Ijsland and was, therefore, refering to how those countries names appear in the language of that island country? ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2005, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/certain-languages-change-the-names-of-geographic-places-can-you-provide-examples/296681/38 "2005-05-09T12:39:27Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > ( **bolding mine** ) > ?? Did you two happen to notice that **UselessGit** was posting from Iceland/Ijsland and was, therefore, refering to how those countries names appear in the language of that island country? No - the question was not only about Icelandic: > [@](#): > > Originally Posted by UselessGit > Doesn’t pretty much **every** language have its own name for Geographic places? To which the answer is ‘no’. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2005, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/certain-languages-change-the-names-of-geographic-places-can-you-provide-examples/296681/39 "2005-05-09T13:57:53Z")
I [posted](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=4541363&postcount=13) in a thread once about Arabic names for Arab countries, and listed them all. Most of the Arabic names are the same as in English or recognizably similar. In the case of Filastin, al-Urdun, and Suriyah the Arabic forms are derived from the same origin as the English forms, but developed differently. The vowel u in Suriyah reminds us that the Greek letter upsilon, which became y in English, was originally u. [symbol]Suria[/symbol] However, to avoid being consistent, which would make things distressingly easy to understand, the Greek upsilon in [symbol]Libua[/symbol] was converted to i in the Arabic name for Libya: Libiya. By the way, the name of Libya written in Arabic script is one of the longest graphical palindromes in any language: ```auto ** | | | | | | | | | \/ \/ \/ \/ .. . .. ** ``` ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2005, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/certain-languages-change-the-names-of-geographic-places-can-you-provide-examples/296681/40 "2005-05-09T15:07:05Z")
I’ve never understood why the English form of **Firenze** is **Florence** – that seems a pretty big change. Ditto for the French calling **London** **Londres**. I can understand changing **Warszawa** to **Warsaw** and **Moskva** to **Moscow** , but why **Lebanon** for **Liban**? Or **Greece** for **Hellas**? It’s not as if these names are difficult to pronounce. The Master has already addressed Germany/Deutschland. and, IIRC, **Egypt** is something completely different to Egyptians. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/certain-languages-change-the-names-of-geographic-places-can-you-provide-examples/296681.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/certain-languages-change-the-names-of-geographic-places-can-you-provide-examples/296681.md?page=3)