Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Was there ever any relationship between this word for people with Down's syndrome and the nationality of Mongolia, or is it just a semantic coincidence?
It's because people with Down's syndrome often have slanty eyes and looked to have oriental facial features to early doctors. As time went by, we found the associating of mentally challenged people with east asians inherent in the word unacceptable.
Alright, latching on to the thread about countries with the most beautiful sounding names. What about those with names that could do with some improvement on how it sounds to the ear, and why?
I could name a few:
Myanmar (the sticky combination of 'M' and 'yan')
Singapore (the ending that forcibly binds 'ga' and 'pore')
Burundi (the beginning sounds of 'Bu' and 'ru')
I think Burma sounds better. It has more old-fashioned connotations. Do you know how to pronounce Singapore properly? It's not a hard 'g', I think it's an ironic name since Singapore is one of the wealthiest nations in Asia per capita lol.
I think Burma sounds better. It has more old-fashioned connotations. Do you know how to pronounce Singapore properly? It's not a hard 'g', I think it's an ironic name since Singapore is one of the wealthiest nations in Asia per capita lol.
Persia sounds better than Iran too.
What's the pronunciation of Singapore , is it Singhapore ?
What's the pronunciation of Singapore , is it Singhapore ?
Think of the difference in the sound of "singer" and "finger". "Finger" has the G glottal stop in it, "singer" does not. Singapore is like the latter, without the glottal stop.
It depends on the language. The Dutch name for Czech Republic is Tsjechië and I've never heard people refer to it otherwise.
Sticking to English, I think Hungary ("hungry"), Greece ("grease") and Turkey are pretty bad country names. Montenegro is not bad but it sounds like an island in the Caribbean rather than a former Yugoslav country. Names like United States and United Kingdom are too nondescript. Niger is too similar to a racial slur and easily confused with Nigeria. South Africa and Central African Republic are utterly unoriginal. Turkmenistan sounds like a Turkey reject. But worst of all is probably Mongolia, because "mongol" is the Dutch word for retard. Uzbekistan (or Ubeki-beki-beki-stan as former Presidential candidate Herman Cain called it) sounds unappealing, as do all country names that end with -stan.
JMO
Well montenegro is latintized "black mountain" which is what it's real name, "Crna Gora" means in Serbo-Croatian. try getting and English speaking person to correctly pronounce that.
Think of the difference in the sound of "singer" and "finger". "Finger" has the G glottal stop in it, "singer" does not. Singapore is like the latter, without the glottal stop.
That's how I've always pronounced it. I can' recall hearing anyone say the hard G.
Chile is strange sounding to a lot of American ears.
I've been calling that country Chili (like the pepper) for years. I only found out recently that the correct spelling is "Chile" but then I was mystified about the pronunciation. I figured it was like "child" but without the d at the end. But now I know it's actually Chee-lay.
Quote:
Niger is strange if said in English. the French way "Nee-zhair" sounds better.
But how do you call someone from Niger? Nigerian is already taken. Niger just sounds wrong. Nigerese maybe?
I've been calling that country Chili (like the pepper) for years. I only found out recently that the correct spelling is "Chile" but then I was mystified about the pronunciation. I figured it was like "child" but without the d at the end. But now I know it's actually Chee-lay.
But how do you call someone from Niger? Nigerian is already taken. Niger just sounds wrong. Nigerese maybe?
Actually it's "Nigerien". That does just sound wrong I agree.
Most people, at least in the US still pronounce Chile like chili.
Czech Republic is Czechia in the russian language, so I think it's just a real bad English translation
Barbados is an ugly name for a country imo
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
