Subject: Re: holland n all oh
Date: Oct 19, 2001 @ 18:12
Author: Peter Smaardijk ("Peter Smaardijk" <smaardijk@...>)
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> Is there not also some consideration of courtesy (as I think youhave
> alluded to already in this thread) to call a country by thename "it"
> chooses for "itself"?I don't know... I think it's nice so many languages have a special
> The official name I find in various encyclopaedias is "Koninkrijkder
> Nederlanden" which to my Deutsch, at least (not Dutch), looks likea
> plural: "Netherlands".I think that in most languages "the Netherlands" is plural, after the
> An odd exception to this direct-as-possible-translation rule isCote
> d'Ivoire, the government of which have officially asked to beReally a pity, in my opinion. The country is called Wybrzeze Kosci
> translated into English as, well ... "Cote d'Ivoire".
>been
> Reminds me of a Richard Feynman story.
> Feynman once met Murray Gell-Mann (who is a linguist as well as a
> physicist) in the corridor outside his office.
> "Murray," said Feynman, "haven't seen you for a while. Have you
> away?"word
> "Yes," said Gell-Mann. "I've been to ..." and he here emitted a
> that sounded to Feynman like "MOHNG-RRRHay-al".Mann
> "Where?" asked Feynman.
> "MOHNG-RRRHay-al," repeated Gell-Mann, slowly and clearly.
> After a bit more to-ing and fro-ing, they established that Gell-
> had been to Montreal, but was using the Quebecois pronunciation.of
> "Tell me, Murray," said Feynman, putting his arm around Gell-Mann's
> shoulders. "As a linguist, don't you feel that the primary purpose
> language is *communication*?""I've been to Coat d'Eve war?"
>
> I don't know what the moral of the story is; I just like to tell it.
>Peter S.
> Grant