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submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by FuckyWucky@hexbear.net to c/chapotraphouse@hexbear.net

https://www.reuters.com/article/world/ukraine-passes-language-law-irritating-president-elect-and-russia-idUSKCN1S110Y/

Literally the whole media switched spelling around this time.

iRaq and iRan are silly but the "Kyiv" stuff is different.

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[-] Aradina@lemmy.ml 51 points 1 year ago

It always annoys me how bent out of shape people get over pronunciation of city and place names in other languages. Some languages have different sounds and thus things are said differently.

The Chinese word for Australia is "Audaliya" and even the frothist of frothers don't go complaining about it (I hope)

[-] Owl@hexbear.net 35 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Chinese names for countries are cool. They try to be nice about it when there's more than one set of characters for something that sounds right (America is from the characters for "beautiful country" instead of "mildew country"), but when that's not possible you get really silly like Portugal being named "grape tooth." (There are also countries with literal translations.)

[-] miz@hexbear.net 31 points 1 year ago
[-] miz@hexbear.net 17 points 1 year ago

I don't know why Greece (Hope Wax) is labelled Hope December

[-] CliffordBigRedDog@hexbear.net 14 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

the La (腊) in Xi La (Greece or Hellas) can mean wax but it also refers to method of food preservation in China called Waxing where meat is dried and cured to have a waxy exterior, this is commonly done in the winter and hence the 12th month in the Chinese Lunar calender (actually usually in January rather than December) is sometimes colloquially called the wax month

[-] miz@hexbear.net 2 points 1 year ago

很有意思,谢谢

[-] Mindfury@hexbear.net 15 points 1 year ago
[-] Belly_Beanis@hexbear.net 4 points 1 year ago

I hope that's real because it's fucking hilarious 🤣

[-] CloutAtlas@hexbear.net 6 points 1 year ago

It is.

Kosovo is {科索沃|kē suǒ wò}

I mean they probably tried to be nice, how else they would have to call it, nato-puppet-ethnically-cleansed-mafia-land or what?

[-] heggs_bayer@hexbear.net 14 points 1 year ago

B I L L Y T I M E

[-] 7bicycles@hexbear.net 12 points 1 year ago

germany
moral land

what the fuck

[-] GarbageShoot@hexbear.net 11 points 1 year ago

These are literal translations of names mostly chosen for sounding at least a little like the country's name in its own language

[-] CloutAtlas@hexbear.net 11 points 1 year ago

Deutschland

Deutsch

De

{德|dé} (meaning moral or virtuous)

{德国|déguó}

[-] kzhe@lemmy.zip 7 points 1 year ago

I assume it's because it's like "de" or something i.e. Deutschland

[-] PolandIsAStateOfMind@lemmygrad.ml 11 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

They should really fucking change it for Germany. Also Sweden, didn't they heard about Poltava? And France after what happened after last election. And UK ffs.

Bulgaria is spot on though, their insurance companies are fucked up.

[-] Deinonychus@hexbear.net 8 points 1 year ago
[-] AdlachGyfiawn@lemmygrad.ml 20 points 1 year ago

Tbf that's a literal translation of Belarus. It means 'white Russia'.

[-] Ram_The_Manparts@hexbear.net 9 points 1 year ago

We call it that in Norwegian as well

[-] REgon@hexbear.net 6 points 1 year ago

Red Wheat sounds like the title of a kickass video game, a fantastic western novel, a decent 80's action movie and an absolutely horrendous metaphor for menstruation.

[-] bunnygirl@hexbear.net 3 points 1 year ago

name for sweden sounds like they're still kinda mad about a very odd war that happened at some point

[-] anarcho_blinkenist@hexbear.net 32 points 1 year ago

ITS DEUTSCHLAND NOT GERMANY YOU POOTIN BOT frothingfash

[-] Aradina@lemmy.ml 9 points 1 year ago

I forgot about the Germans capability for froth somehow

[-] Tomorrow_Farewell@hexbear.net 19 points 1 year ago

Good point.

I will now start saying, 'yidali', 'jianada', 'yingguo', and 'bumeiguo'.

[-] Aradina@lemmy.ml 14 points 1 year ago

Don't forget xibanya!

[-] SadArtemis@hexbear.net 8 points 1 year ago

even the frothist of frothers don't go complaining about it (I hope)

Even if they did, they should stay mad. None of the Anglo settler-colonial names are legitimate after all.

[-] keepcarrot@hexbear.net 7 points 1 year ago

They largely don't know

this post was submitted on 03 Oct 2024
136 points (92.5% liked)

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