Turkey (the Country) Changing it's Name

There are so many European names of places and rivers that other countries have anglicized. Why do we do this?

Before going on a Danube river cruise, a German fellow said “oh, the Danau“. I didn’t know what he meant until we got there. There’s so much of this.
 
Jules said:
There are so many European names of places and rivers that other countries have anglicized. Why do we do this?

Before going on a Danube river cruise, a German fellow said “oh, the Danau“. I didn’t know what he meant until we got there. There’s so much of this.
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It's pretty common for Mexican immigrants to call Texas "Take-us". It's funny, but I'm not joking. To them it spells either take-us or tay-hoss.
And a lot of Texans scratch their heads over this bc they think Texas is a Mexican word, but I'm pretty sure it originated with Native Americans.
 
Not to mention that what we in the U.S. and other English-speaking areas call a country may not be the same as what the locals in that country call it.

Mexico <==> sounds like Mehico in Mexico
 
Murrmurr said:
It's pretty common for Mexican immigrants to call Texas "Take-us". It's funny, but I'm not joking. To them it spells either take-us or tay-hoss.
And a lot of Texans scratch their heads over this bc they think Texas is a Mexican word, but I'm pretty sure it originated with Native Americans.
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Very astute Murrmurr. "The name Texas, based on the Caddo word táyshaʼ (/tʼajʃaʔ/) 'friend', was applied, in the spelling Tejas or Texas, by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves, specifically the Hasinai Confederacy, the final -s representing the Spanish plural.
The Mission San Francisco de los Tejas was completed near the Hasinai village of Nabedaches in May 1690, in what is now Houston County, East Texas." Wikipedia
"CADDO INDIANS. Before the middle of the nineteenth century the term Caddo denoted only one of at least twenty-five distinct but closely affiliated groups centered around the Red River in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma. The term derives from the French abbreviation of Kadohadacho, a word meaning "real chief" or "real Caddo" in the Kadohadacho dialect." TSHA
 
The digital age strikes again. The peception of their contry is all over social media, and all countries are dealing with the mighty "English". We use the word to demean something...stupid...failure. These people need to do international business and can all feel how much they are maligned. (in general) I would rather know that my ancestry had to do with independence and freedom of choice like their traditional spelling, than accept a title that can be used in a mean way.
 
jujube said:
In the Turkish language, it's been Turkiye since 1923. Nothing new there. Most countries have a colloquial name in their own languages.

I lived in Turkey for 2 1/2 years, 50 years ago and saw that name frequently. My daughter was born there and "Turkiye" appears on some of her Turkish paperwork.
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Thank you for the date jujube, that was when they changed the name,
but nobody bothered very much about what they wanted and kept on
with Turkey, might be the same again as their President is not very
popular.

A lot of place name changes is down to the Victorians, they either couldn't
pronounce the native name or kept forgetting the spelling.

Many places have changed their name back to the original, in my lifetime,
Siam, Persia, Peking, Bombay, Madras, Jugoslavia, there are probably many
more that I don't know.

Mike.
 
Murrmurr said:
It's pretty common for Mexican immigrants to call Texas "Take-us". It's funny, but I'm not joking. To them it spells either take-us or tay-hoss.
And a lot of Texans scratch their heads over this bc they think Texas is a Mexican word, but I'm pretty sure it originated with Native Americans.
Click to expand...
Maybe it's their way of reminding people that it was theirs first...
 
The part of Turkey that is West of the Bosphorus, in Europe,
was actually Greek, the Turks took it from Greece after some
war, who's details I have forgotten.

Istanbul, was originally called Constantinople and the "Grand
Mosque" there, was originally a Christian Cathedral, which was
re-purposed and modified by the Muslims.

Mike.
 
The Turks that I met there a few years ago, all spoke several
languages, beside Turkish, they all spoke, Greek, German,
Iranian, Russian, Italian, English, plus one other that I forget,
I was really impressed, I thought that I was good, when I was
young, I, too, spoke several languages, but not any more.

Mike.
 
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