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Latest comment: 2 years ago3 comments3 people in discussion
Who, other than their authors, looks at such pages? What's the use of an endless list of examples of the obvious fact that each language adapts foreign words to its own phonology and orthography? Why do we need a list of place-names in Spanish more than a list of Spanish words for spices or engine parts? If you find such lists useful, please tell me how. —Tamfang (talk) 20:38, 29 September 2019 (UTC)Reply
Not all languages adapt. For instance, when the Chinese government announced they were renaming their Northern Capital, freely known among the English-speaking peoples as Peking for at least 300 years, the English-speaking world immediately took as good the Chinese government edict and it is now rare not see Beijing in English, unless referring to certain historic proper names (University of Peking, etc., or other historic contexts). In Spanish, conversely, it is recommended that the original name, Pekín or Pequín, remain in use.[1]XavierItzm (talk) 08:36, 28 August 2021 (UTC)Reply
Not all languages adapt, as XaiverItzm says, and sometimes new city names are simply not honored for whatever other reason, historical and political being the strongest motivations. Examples each of those two: a) if Aachen were to become French instead of German, Spanish would still maintain the usage of the name "Aquisgrán" instead of "Aguas de la Capilla", as this word is derived directly from its Latin name Aquisgranum; b) during the time where Saint Petersburg was called Leningrad, Spanish language maintained the usage of "San Petersburgo" (although "Leningrado" was also seen). Mfarah (talk) 11:12, 28 August 2021 (UTC)Reply
