Comments on: Defunct place names

By: Ann Lopez

Ann Lopez — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:27:32 +0000

Hello James Manfull:

Here’s the CD info:

SONG: Matadjem Yinmixan
ARTIST: Tinariwen
CD TITLE: Aman Iman: Water is Life
CD LABEL: World Village

By: Ann Lopez

Ann Lopez — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:25:39 +0000

Hello Jeff Dahlberg:

Don’t know if you’re still searching for this music but here’s the CD info:

SONG: Matadjem Yinmixan
ARTIST: Tinariwen
CD TITLE: Aman Iman: Water is Life
CD LABEL: World Village

By: Shoshana

Shoshana — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 06:39:06 +0000

Sounds good to me! Denali! I hope to see it one day.

By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 03:34:21 +0000

and John, to be clear: in Spanish Yerba Buena does translate to ‘good herb’ (and is a very pretty name) but specifically is the name of a kind of mint, not any other ‘herb’ that may be thinking of.

By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 03:28:58 +0000

On the Persia/Iran question. My understanding is that there are many people living in modern Iran who consider themselves Iranian but who are not culturally Persian. So to fall back to the historical name would probably find strong opposition.

By: John

John — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 01:22:00 +0000

I would love to bring back Yerba Buena, the original name of San Francisco, California. Yerba Buena, the good herb.

By: Brian

Brian — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 00:43:15 +0000

I always wondered who decides how foreign names are translated into English. I know French has the French Academy and Spanish has something similar. But how is it that Deutschland becomes Germany and Norge becomes Norway but France and Mexico remain the same…

By: David Wicks

David Wicks — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 23:07:24 +0000

I would like to hear the name Burma used universally, especially because (I believe) the people there like their original name.
In general, I don’t understand why we would call any country any name other than what they call themselves. I have no problem pronouncing Deutschland or España, do you?

By: Leisha Wharfield

Leisha Wharfield — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:58:43 +0000

Anything with “Squaw” in it: Squaw Valley, Squaw Creek, etc. It’s disrespectful to Native Americans, especially women.

By: Afya Allen

Afya Allen — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 14:27:06 +0000

Hello there,

My understanding is that the original and correct pronunciation of Calcutta and Bombay is KolKATTA and MumBAI. Calcutta and Bombay are just anglicizations of the names by way of British protectorateship/colonization. I think the world has been lazy for long enough in pronouncing the names and SHOULD make the effort now to get them right.

By: dale heckman

dale heckman — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 14:26:34 +0000

In response to your invitation today, 10/13/09, regarding changes of place names.
During all my growing-up years in eastern Penna., there was a town in the “first gap” of the Lehigh River called “Mauch Chunk” (pron. mok tschunk). My Aunt Stella and family who lived on the north (“left”) bank always said it was the local Indian name meaning “Bear Mountain.” In a recent decade, however, promoters in the town decided they could attract more (paying) visitors if they re-named the town “Jim Thorpe.” I always admired and celebrated Jim Thorpe, the great American athlete. But the Carlisle Indian School where he had been sent for schooling is a long, long way from Mauch Chunk, and I don’t think Jim Thorpe even came from the Lennai Lenape (Delaware) tribe. So this name-change has always seemed to me (and many others), a phony promotional stunt — even by people with no feeling for the local lore. I have always felt that Mr.Thorpe himself would have objected –if still alive– to being used in this way. He had NO connection here.
Ironically –according to my Aunt Stella and Uncle Bill — the last Indian captured alive here was murdered inside the town’s jail. Legend had it that they could not eradicate the blood stains from the stone floor.
So I wish the town were still “Mauch Chunk.”

By: Harry Campbell

Harry Campbell — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:27:17 +0000

Magyarország for Hungary and Türkiye/Turkiye for Turkey? And Deutschland for Germany, and Rossiya for Russia, and Bhārat Ganarājya or whatever for India, and — aargh! That way madness lies!

By: Jericho Wasserman

Jericho Wasserman — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:07:11 +0000

As far as the English names for certain geographic areas go, I, personally, would like to see the name for Washington State changed to something else. It’s a pain being from Washington STATE and having to clarify that it is not Washington, DC. Also, why can we not call Hungary “Hungaria”? That sounds more like a nation than a state of craving food. Or we might even call it even “Magyar”, or something more indigenous to the linguistics of the country. How about “Turkiye” instead of Turkey? We can even leave off the umlaut just for kicks!

By: James

James — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 01:48:40 +0000

Well, I found the opening music, but still looking for the closing music of this segment. any guesses on where to look?

By: James

James — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 01:43:53 +0000

never mind, found it