I have heard alot of Iranians complain about how English speakers mispronounce Iran as "Eye-rahn" instead of "Eeh-rahn". Then, when I speak in Farsi, and I say "America", they correct me, saying they pronounce it "Am-reekah".. So why is it that English speakers can be chided for not using local pronunciation for place names, but others can say our place names any which way they choose? is it that English is more tolerant of variation that other languages are?
Place names in foreign languages and pronunciation..
I would have to say that if you spoke to anyone who was from those areas, they would tend to disagree with you. Persia is a Province in Iran, the one that most of the people the Greeks warred with came from. The Greeks called the whole place Persia, and it stuck for the better part of an eon. The Persian language would have been "Parsi" 800 years ago, but was changed due to the Arab invaders having an issue with the letter "P".. Bebsi and Bizza anyone? Maybe a ride down the Banias River? Yeah, those were all P before the Arabs came in, scimitars aloft, ready to expand Islam.. However, since the world accepts Islam's expansion thses days, they also need to accept that the Islamic world does not play well with the letter "P". Persians are only one ethnic group in Iran.
Jason:
Perhaps because English doesn't have a monopoly on "America"? It's a whole continent, with lots of other languages than English.
Perhaps because English doesn't have a monopoly on "America"? It's a whole continent, with lots of other languages than English.
Jason. You can not actually blame them. When we write "America" in Urdu or Farsi, that's how it is written and read as "Am-reekah", I used to pronounce it like that till I started learning English and had come to know the native pronunciation of the word. Any kid who sees America written in urdu would pronounce Amreekah naturally. It is akin to a phonological aspect, we pronounce a word the way it is written and it does not neccessarily conform to the natural pronunciation of the word. Americans not only pronounced Iran wrongly but they also pronounced Pakistan and there might be more, I don't know, but who cares as long as the pronunciation of the word does not go off the tangent and doesn't sound totally awkward on ears.