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submitted 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month 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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[-] Owl@hexbear.net 35 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month 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 month ago
[-] miz@hexbear.net 17 points 1 month ago

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

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

很有意思,谢谢

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

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

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

It is.

Kosovo is {科索沃|kē suǒ wò}

[-] PolandIsAStateOfMind@lemmygrad.ml 2 points 1 month ago

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 month ago

B I L L Y T I M E

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

germany
moral land

what the fuck

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

Deutschland

Deutsch

De

{德|dé} (meaning moral or virtuous)

{德国|déguó}

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

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

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

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

[-] PolandIsAStateOfMind@lemmygrad.ml 11 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month 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 month ago
[-] AdlachGyfiawn@lemmygrad.ml 20 points 1 month ago

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

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

We call it that in Norwegian as well

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

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

this post was submitted on 03 Oct 2024
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