# Why do Americans spell "Ghandi" ? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 31, 2003, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-spell-ghandi/151931 "2003-01-31T19:28:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Eleusis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2004, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-spell-ghandi/151931/41 "2004-02-12T07:36:07Z")
The OP, from his website. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2004, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-spell-ghandi/151931/42 "2004-02-12T07:52:28Z")
> [@Eleusis](#): > > Why do people who live on Vine Street in West Lafayette, Indiana spell “Behaviour” with a “u”, like British people? > > Ooh look, [5,460 results](http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=ghandi+site%3A%2Euk) for “Ghandi” in the UK alone. Only the first page refers to the Mahatma though. The others are mostly restaurants and other people listed on genealogy pages. Ghandi appears to be an acceptable spelling in Urdu or Persian. ---
**Author:** ![Eleusis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2004, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-spell-ghandi/151931/43 "2004-02-12T09:05:17Z")
That’s cool, **dutchboy**. I was just demonstrating that it isn’t an exclusively American phenomenom. BTW, I’m having second thoughts at posting that street name, even though I was deliberately vague and **Gyan** ’s full details, including phone number, are freely available to anyone who cares to look. If that constitutes bad form, maybe a mod can edit it out of my post. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2004, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-spell-ghandi/151931/44 "2004-02-12T09:19:03Z")
Can we mention Kahlil Gibran? Both for how it is spelled and how it is pronounced? ---
**Author:** ![Jerrybear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8c91f0/32.png) [@Jerrybear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jerrybear)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2004, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-spell-ghandi/151931/45 "2004-02-12T15:14:23Z")
> [@Ukulele Ike](#): > > Just don’t ask any of us to spell “Nietzsche.” Since I am a Green Bay Packer fan, I am inclined to spell the philosopher’s name “Nitschke,” as in Ray Nitschke AKA Old Number 66, the Packers’ late, great middle linebacker from the Lombardi dynasty. ---
**Author:** ![hawkeyejo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e19b73/32.png) [@hawkeyejo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawkeyejo)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2004, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-spell-ghandi/151931/46 "2004-02-14T04:24:02Z")
I don’t mind calling Bombay Mumbai, since that’s what I’ve been doing all my life anyway. Seems just right to me. But hey I’m from Pune so doesn’t make a difference to me either way. I can understand how you feel though Gyan, SS started renaming places in Pune a while back and that pissed me off like anything. And Thakeray is not even a Maratha…but that’s a different issue. What really sucks is renaming VT as CST (though for some reason my granny still calls it Boribundar) ---
**Author:** ![gouda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c77e96/32.png) [@gouda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gouda)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2004, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-spell-ghandi/151931/47 "2004-02-24T05:42:30Z")
I live in Pune now, but more often than not, I call it Poona. Most people I know do that too. The SS didn’t stop at renaming VT. The Prince of Wales Museum was renamed into something I can’t even pronounce, but it does have something to do with Shivaji. The Sahar international airport in Bombay was renamed after Shivaji. Crawford Market is called Jijamata something. The Hanging Gardens are Jijamata something (admittedly, that was renamed some time before)… Pointless, really. No one uses any of these new names (aside from Mumbai, which was already being used by millions). What a waste of time. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2004, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-spell-ghandi/151931/48 "2004-02-24T07:12:15Z")
So has Shivaji Park been renamed Shivaji Shivaji? ---
**Author:** ![Ace309](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ace309/32/1050_2.png) [@Ace309](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ace309)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2004, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-spell-ghandi/151931/49 "2004-02-24T17:03:06Z")
> [@II Gyan II](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > Didn’t Ghandi have something to do with Bhudda? > > Yeah, they both have their names mispronounced and misspelled. > > It’s _Boo(d) dh-aa_. It’s hard to explain how the first two syllables are pronounced. I can’t find an equivalent sound in an indigenous English word. Whoosh, I say. Whoosh! ---
**Author:** ![litost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@litost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/litost)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2004, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-spell-ghandi/151931/50 "2004-02-24T17:38:02Z")
> [@dutchboy208](#): > > So has Shivaji Park been renamed Shivaji Shivaji? It’s Shivaji Jijamata, silly. ---
**Author:** ![gouda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c77e96/32.png) [@gouda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gouda)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2004, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-spell-ghandi/151931/51 "2004-02-25T14:08:09Z")
> [@dutchboy208](#): > > So has Shivaji Park been renamed Shivaji Shivaji? Y’know, if it weren’t so obviously ludicrous, they probably would have! ---
**Author:** ![hawkeyejo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e19b73/32.png) [@hawkeyejo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawkeyejo)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2004, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-spell-ghandi/151931/52 "2004-02-25T15:03:00Z")
Everyone seems to agree renaming places is pointless, but everyone sure is getting worked up about it. Seems it’s not as benign as everyone thinks. I think Shivaji himself would be pretty peeved if he knew how these guys are using him for political gains. I think he needs to come back and kick some ass. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2004, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-spell-ghandi/151931/53 "2004-02-25T17:45:17Z")
The name I’ve seen most frequently misspelled by people who ought to know better is **Adolph** [sic] **Hitler**. ---
**Author:** ![gouda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c77e96/32.png) [@gouda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gouda)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2004, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-spell-ghandi/151931/54 "2004-02-27T06:18:15Z")
> [@hawkeyejo](#): > > Everyone seems to agree renaming places is pointless, but everyone sure is getting worked up about it. Seems it’s not as benign as everyone thinks. > > I think Shivaji himself would be pretty peeved if he knew how these guys are using him for political gains. I think he needs to come back and kick some ass. No, no one is saying that it’s pointless. What we’re all angry about and arguing against is the justification used for the renaming. The SS used their nationalistic Maratha plank to float their renaming orgy. But as **II Gyan II** explained, that is NOT the identity of this city. Bombay has not been a ‘Maharashtrian’ city for over a century (give or take a decade?), and will never be one in the future. This city takes its place among the greatest in the world mainly because of its multicultural nature (name one other majority ethnic Indian city that can make the same claim), and to thrust a Maratha identity onto it is to deny its citizens the recognition they deserve. I can understand (though not necessarily accept) the desire to rid the city of its British heritage. If they were to rename these places after people who played a role in making the city what it is today (yes, I know it’s a dirty, stinking over-populated island, but still!), and I’d stand by their side. Let it represent the city! For starters, how about renaming the international airport after JRD Tata, pioneer aviator and one of Bombay’s favourite sons? But my support ends where they begin renaming the city itself. Then again, why the fuck did they have to rename??!! There were many, many more pressing matters that needed the attention of our politicians than their petty renaming stunt. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2004, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-spell-ghandi/151931/55 "2004-02-27T12:12:47Z")
> [@](#): > > There were many, many more pressing matters that needed the attention of our politicians than their petty renaming stunt. Cheer up. Over here in the States, despite the genuinely pressing issues of the day, we always have a little coterie of twits who want to amend the Constitution because once every dozen years or so somebody burns a flag at a protest rally. > [@](#): > > The name I’ve seen most frequently misspelled by people who ought to know better is **Adolph** [sic] **Hitler**. In fairness to those who make the error, Adol **ph** is the slightly more common spelling of that name, generally, and as more people print articles using Adolph, more people will be forced to choose a spelling, having no “authoritative” spelling before them. ---
**Author:** ![hawkeyejo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e19b73/32.png) [@hawkeyejo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawkeyejo)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2004, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-spell-ghandi/151931/56 "2004-02-27T18:03:08Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by **gouda** > No, no one is saying that it’s pointless. What we’re all angry about and arguing against is the justification used for the renaming. > > The SS used their nationalistic Maratha plank to float their renaming orgy. But as II Gyan II explained, that is NOT the identity of this city. Bombay has not been a ‘Maharashtrian’ city for over a century (give or take a decade?), and will never be one in the future. This city takes its place among the greatest in the world mainly because of its multicultural nature (name one other majority ethnic Indian city that can make the same claim), and to thrust a Maratha identity onto it is to deny its citizens the recognition they deserve. Considering I’m not so emotionally involved in all this renaming business in Mumbai, I still think it’s pretty pointless. The SS might be doing it to gain political mileage, but they aren’t really going to score points for renaming places. Which is why they lost the last election. Considering I’m a Maharashtrian myself of course, I don’t get the feeling they are stripping me of my identity by renaming places, but being such a cosmopolitan city, it is apparent a majority of the population will. I read **||Gyan||'s** post. He stops short of saying Bombay should be in Gujarat. So much for cosmopolitan; it seems nationalistic (or should I say regionalistic) feelings go both ways. But fact is it still doesn’t make all the renaming any better. And now it’s going to be very hard to rename the renamed names. Nobody will have the guts to do it. ---
**Author:** ![gouda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c77e96/32.png) [@gouda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gouda)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2004, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-spell-ghandi/151931/57 "2004-02-28T07:00:55Z")
**More on the renaming issue** I just received an email, which according to friends has been floating around for a while… it’s all very tongue-in-cheek: Recently, the State government announced its plans to rename the Prince of Wales museum as the Chhatrapati Shivaji Vastusangrahlaya.So now we have that in addition to the Chhatrapti Shivaji Terminus, the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Domestic Airport, and who knows what else. If this trend continues, we may reasonably speculate what it will be like in 2050AD. My name is Chhatrapati Shivaji. My father’s name is Chhatrapati Shivaji. All other names have long since been outlawed.I wake up everyday at 6:30 am CST (Chhatrapati Standard Time) to go to my school: Chhatrapati Shivaji Vidyalaya.It was a little confusing getting there at first, because all schools in the city have the same name. But once I got directions, it was fine. All I have to do is go down Chhatrapati Shivaji Road, make a left turn at Chhatrapati Shivaji Chowk, go straight till Chhatrapati Shivaji Marg, until I reach Chhatrapati Shivaji School.Once I got lost and found myself at Chhatrapati Shivaji Chowk instead of Chhatrapati Shivaji Road. Silly mistake, when I think about it. My class teacher, Mr C. Shivaji, is a good teacher. Today he asked, “Chhatrapati, can you answer that question?” The whole class stood up to answer. Yesterday our school, C. S. Vidyalaya, had a cricket match with our rival school, C. S. Vidyalaya. Of course, we don’t know which school won. But that’s okay. This weekend, my family and I will go to the zoo, Chhatrapati Shivaji Pranibaugh, and see all the, um… plants. There used to be animals there, but they’re all dead now. They say it was due to “negligence” because the keepers were all running for government, one of them for the office of Prime Chhatrapati. We have two main telecommunication companies, CSNL and CSNL. One provides telephone services and the other provides broadband MultiNet access via the Chhatrapati Shivaji Satellite. Sometimes we don’t know whether we’re accessing a website or whether Chhatrapati Shivaji (our grandmother) is calling up. I’ll go online later to see if I have any new e-mail at chhatrapati@chhatrapatishivaji.csForeigners are often confused which Paanch Sitaara Vishramgraha (5-ishtar hotel) to stay in, because they all have the same names. I think the Chhatrapati Shivaji Vishramgraha is pretty good, and one should stay there rather than the Chhatrapati Shivaji Vishramgraha or the Chhatrapati Shivaji Vishramgraha. During the weekend, my family and I might go to the beach, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Samudrakinara, and after that we may go see a film. All foreign films are dubbed in Indian languages because, as we are taught in school:(1) Nothing foreign is good, and (2) All things foreign that are good have been stolen from us. I go to sleep pretty early, after watching the popular TV show Kaun Banega Chhatrapati. Tomorrow will be another day… I think. Sometimes, in whispers, I hear stories told of a mythical age long ago, when places and things had different names. Stories of a time when each thing had it’s own name, and of a concept called “heterogeneity”. It’s a legend, only half-believed, of a time when places and things had a history, and the city an identity. Date: 22 November, 450 AC (After Chhatrapati) Place: Chhatrapati Shivaji Mahanagar (Formerly Bombay City) ---
**Author:** ![II\_Gyan\_II](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bbe5ce/32.png) [@II\_Gyan\_II](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/II_Gyan_II)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-spell-ghandi/151931/58 "2004-03-14T15:30:36Z")
Boy Oh Boy Oh Boy I leave a thread alone for a year and see what happens. > [@MILtan](#): > > But could you clear up what you mean by “nearly borders Maharashtra”? Well, Bombay is an island. It’s connected by the bridges to the mainland. Well, the municipality cover regions on the mainland, but that’s an extension. As for the state capital, I was referring in the sense of where the state assembly meets. During winter, they meet at Nagpur. Google for ‘Nagpur winter capital’. ---
**Author:** ![II\_Gyan\_II](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bbe5ce/32.png) [@II\_Gyan\_II](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/II_Gyan_II)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-spell-ghandi/151931/59 "2004-03-14T16:31:01Z")
> [@Eleusis](#): > > BTW, I’m having second thoughts at posting that street name It’s okay (for people from Saltillo :D). ---
**Author:** ![Eleusis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-spell-ghandi/151931/60 "2004-03-14T20:07:30Z")
> [@II Gyan II](#): > > It’s okay (for people from Saltillo :D). LOL. You were the one who inspired me to not be afraid of allowing SDMBers to whois my domain(s). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-americans-spell-ghandi/151931.md?page=2)