# Eye-ran? Kiss my grits, Wolfie. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 9, 2002, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eye-ran-kiss-my-grits-wolfie/141500 "2002-12-09T13:50:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Steve\_Wright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Steve\_Wright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_Wright)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2002, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eye-ran-kiss-my-grits-wolfie/141500/21 "2002-12-09T15:55:08Z")
Germany (Deutschland, or Allemagne - _les Allemandes sont les gens qui habitent en Allemagne_, he says in his very rusty and probably inaccurate French) is kind of a special case, in that people in other countries had well-established names for that geographical area before it became a country (Germany was united in, what, 1860something?). If you’ve got a common name for a country in your own language, that’s probably what you use. The Germans are happy to call France _Frankreich_. (For that matter, we British are happy to pronouce France with a front _a_ instead of the [correct] back one - “Frahnce”). But Iran, as a nation, is called ee-rahn. Unless you want to appeal to tradition and call it Persia. The mispronunciation “eye-ran” has no tradition behind it, it’s just that people can’t be bothered with the right pronunciation. Personally, I’m happy for newsreaders to make some effort to pronounce place-names the way the natives use them\* … the BBC, gawd bless 'em, tend to be pretty good about this. \*Unless there’s a decent excuse, like the name of the place uses phonemes or phonotactics not normally found in English. I don’t have a problem with them calling Hrvatska “Croatia”, for example. But Iran isn’t one of these cases. ---
**Author:** ![Neidhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Neidhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neidhart)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2002, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eye-ran-kiss-my-grits-wolfie/141500/22 "2002-12-09T15:55:54Z")
What the heck is an Iron Sheik? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Neidhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Neidhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neidhart)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2002, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eye-ran-kiss-my-grits-wolfie/141500/23 "2002-12-09T15:57:03Z")
and “Allemagne” comes from the name of an ancient Germanic tribe, the Alemanni. ---
**Author:** ![Anahita](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9a28c/32.png) [@Anahita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anahita)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2002, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eye-ran-kiss-my-grits-wolfie/141500/24 "2002-12-09T15:57:29Z")
**Iron Sheik** was a wrestler in the States in the 80’s. Here’s some info. [http://wrestlingcage.com/sheik/bio.htm](http://wrestlingcage.com/sheik/bio.htm) ---
**Author:** ![TwistofFate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@TwistofFate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwistofFate)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2002, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eye-ran-kiss-my-grits-wolfie/141500/25 "2002-12-09T15:58:59Z")
Fenris, not only is it how it is pronounced in Farsi, it is how Farsi speakers who also speak English pronounce it. But, if you want to insist on being pig headed, knock yourself out. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2002, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eye-ran-kiss-my-grits-wolfie/141500/26 "2002-12-09T16:05:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Steve Wright \* > \*\*Germany (Deutschland, or Allemagne - _les Allemandes sont les gens qui habitent en Allemagne_, he says in his very rusty and probably inaccurate French) is kind of a special case, in that people in other countries had well-established names for that geographical area before it became a country (Germany was united in, what, 1860something?). If you’ve got a common name for a country in your own language, that’s probably what you use. The Germans are happy to call France _Frankreich_. (For that matter, we British are happy to pronouce France with a front _a_ instead of the [correct] back one - “Frahnce”). > > But Iran, as a nation, is called ee-rahn. Unless you want to appeal to tradition and call it Persia. The mispronunciation “eye-ran” has no tradition behind it, it’s just that people can’t be bothered with the right pronunciation. Personally, I’m happy for newsreaders to make some effort to pronounce place-names the way the natives use them > \*\* Aaaargh!!! Logic! In _the PIT_! Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! : shrivels up : Ok, those are damned good points, **Steve** and **Laur**. I do think it sounds silly, (at least the way NPR used to do it, but I’ll conceed. Fenris ---
**Author:** ![Neidhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Neidhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neidhart)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2002, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eye-ran-kiss-my-grits-wolfie/141500/27 "2002-12-09T16:09:11Z")
originally posted by **Anahita** > [@](#): > > Iron Sheik was a wrestler in the States in the 80’s. Here’s some info. Ah. Thanks. 🙂 Hungarian names for other countries and cities are unrecognizable to Americans. Poland, for example, is _Lengyelorszag_ and Belgrade is _Nandorfehervar._ ---
**Author:** ![Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/soul_brother_number_two/32/3515_2.png) [@Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soul_Brother_Number_Two)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2002, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eye-ran-kiss-my-grits-wolfie/141500/28 "2002-12-09T16:24:16Z")
[Iron Sheik]EE-RAWN, NUMBAIR VUN!! AMERICA, HOCK PTUI!![/Iron Sheik] ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/47e85d/32.png) [@Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Lance_Murdoch)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2002, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eye-ran-kiss-my-grits-wolfie/141500/29 "2002-12-09T16:51:43Z")
Some points, 1. George W. Bush made the axis of evil remark, not Wolf Blitzer. 2. I didn’t know Wolf Blitzer was small, but why does that bother you? 3. Americans don’t speak Farsi. Predicatably, Americans (and everyone else) have a hard time pronouncing things the correct way in languages they are unfamiliar with. There are Iranians I’ve known for close to 20 years who still call me row-JEHR. They just can’t grasp the correct pronunciation of Roger. I’m not offended by them. 4. This seems like a pretty petty issue. A slight mispronunciation is still an infinate improvement over “shetuneh bozorg.” Personally, I’m just happy to hear “Amreeka” without “margh bar” in front of it. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2002, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eye-ran-kiss-my-grits-wolfie/141500/30 "2002-12-09T16:57:21Z")
How about Han Guk, Anahita? Do you pronounce that country’s name that way? ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2002, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eye-ran-kiss-my-grits-wolfie/141500/31 "2002-12-09T16:59:38Z")
Or Nippon? Or Zhong Guo? Or the name of that big city in Russia, Moskva? And where do you split the word into syllables? How do you pronounce “Mexico?” The list just might be endless. Your rant rates a zero. ---
**Author:** ![Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helen_s_Eidolon)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2002, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eye-ran-kiss-my-grits-wolfie/141500/32 "2002-12-09T17:04:10Z")
Good to see you’ve completely skipped over some posts, **Monty!**. > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by LaurAnge_ > **There’s a difference between different words for a place and different ways to pronounce the same word.** ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2002, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eye-ran-kiss-my-grits-wolfie/141500/33 "2002-12-09T17:10:56Z")
Sorry about that, LaurAnge. I swear I didn’t see that posting. But you might notice that Mexico falls into that bit about different ways of pronouncing the same word. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2002, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eye-ran-kiss-my-grits-wolfie/141500/34 "2002-12-09T17:13:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by LaurAnge \* > \*\ ***Fenris** , there’s a difference between different **words** for a place and different ways to pronounce the same word. \*\* So how do you pronounce “Paris”, then? [BTW, I agree about not saying Eye-ran or Eye-raq. Just throwing that out in case someone has an answer. I don’t, and it bugs me.] ---
**Author:** ![Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helen_s_Eidolon)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2002, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eye-ran-kiss-my-grits-wolfie/141500/35 "2002-12-09T17:18:40Z")
Okay, here’s my response to the “Mexico” and “Paris” questions. And I’m not going to say this is the ultimate answer, because I’m not sure. The native pronunciations of Mexico and Paris don’t have a direct translation into English sounds. And at the very least, they have established histories of pronunciation in the English language. Which, I would argue, “Eye-ran” doesn’t. Maybe if we hadn’t been calling them “Mec-si-co” and “Pah-riss” for hundreds of years, we could be having this argument, and it **would** be valid. Maybe we should try to, now that we know better, create histories of pronunciation that are more accurate, and in accordance with the people’s self-identification. But what’s done is done. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Corrado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a88e4f/32.png) [@John\_Corrado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Corrado)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2002, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eye-ran-kiss-my-grits-wolfie/141500/36 "2002-12-09T17:19:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Anahita \* > I’m not sure why they call it Allemande… Der Meister sprechen\*: [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2\_162.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_162.html) John C. \*My knowledge of German comes completely from episodes of Hogan’s Heroes. ---
**Author:** ![istara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e79b87/32.png) [@istara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/istara)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2002, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eye-ran-kiss-my-grits-wolfie/141500/37 "2002-12-09T17:21:07Z")
I come from England. It’s not pronounced “London”. It’s pronounced “England.” ---
**Author:** ![beagledave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6de8d8/32.png) [@beagledave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beagledave)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2002, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eye-ran-kiss-my-grits-wolfie/141500/38 "2002-12-09T17:38:20Z")
I’m guessing you’re gonna ream out the good folks at [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com) [well](http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=iran)? The last listed pronunciation appears to be “eye-ran” (and I don’t see “ee-rawn” listed as a pronunciation…although “ih-rawn” is) You can say that they’re incorrect…but then cut Blitzer some slack. (similar findings at [m-w.com](http://m-w.com)…the first pronuncitation is “ih-rawn”, NOT “ee-rawn”, and “I-ran” listed as well) ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2002, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eye-ran-kiss-my-grits-wolfie/141500/39 "2002-12-09T17:43:31Z")
Anahita, just curious, do you pronounce every vowel sound of every English word with perfect accuracy? ---
**Author:** ![Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helen_s_Eidolon)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2002, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eye-ran-kiss-my-grits-wolfie/141500/40 "2002-12-09T17:45:08Z")
I thnik ih-rawn and ee-rawn are the same, **beagledave**. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eye-ran-kiss-my-grits-wolfie/141500.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/eye-ran-kiss-my-grits-wolfie/141500.md?page=3)