Don’t forget ISIS !!!
I remember the chief Middle-East correspondent from some network, forget her name, going off on something of a mini-rant about this. She insisted it’s [EE-rack] and [EE-ran] …
Well, we don’t call Spain Espana, Paris Puh-ree, Munich Munchen, or Moscow Moskva.
Could it possibly be Iran and Iraq are pronounced differently in English from how they are pronounced in Arabic, Kurdish, or Persian?
I’ve always thought that in English we should say Persia and Mesopotamia.
I’d go with Persia for the country. Persian doesn’t work well for its people because only about 60% of Iranians are ethnically Persian.
:rolleyes:
That is ridiculous. Many languages have different names/terms for various places. When the word/term is not different is when this issue arises.Are you saying that English has a different name for Baghdad, Iraq or even Iran?
Having a different name in your language is one thing. Deliberately mispronouncing the words is something else. Or are you pronouncing Italia as Eye-Tal-Lee-Ya?
No one has any objection to Damiskh being called Damascus, Shaam being called Syria, Sudiate being called Saudi Arabia, Bharat being called India in English. Since these terms have existed in English and refer to the place meant.
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I’ve always thought that in English we should say Persia and Mesopotamia.
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Would be inaccurate. Classical Mesopotamia includes areas today in Syria and Turkey and modern day Iraq includes area from traditional Iran and Armenia.
Iran is a lot bigger than Parsa/Fars province. Modern Iran is basically a rump state, surviving portions of the last Empire, which eventually became a republic.
The English word “Persia” is not simply a translation of “Fars” in meaning.