Re: new Klingon spelling

Quoting "Thomas R. Wier" <trwier@...>:

> From:    Andreas Johansson <andjo@...>
> > Instead, I thought I ask what you feel about "quasitranslations". For
> example,
> > the traditional Swedish name of Belarus is _Vitryssland_, which is a
> perfectly
> > transparent compound meaning "White Russia"*. After the place got
> independent
> > in '91, some voices were raised what we should ditch that name and adopt
> > _Belarus_ out of "respect". No idea what the Belarussians would have
> thought
> > of it had it been done - likely they hadn't cared much at all - but I know
> I'd
> > be anything but happy if anglophones suddenly replaced "Sweden" with some
> > mangling of _Sverige_. What's your view?
>
> My point was not how a proper noun should be pronounced in general,
> but how it should be pronounced in the presence of a person whom it
> affects. Thus:  if you meet a person from Belarus, I was suggesting
> that one should ask how that person would prefer that word to be
> pronounced, and if they don't care, then there's no problem.
I might accept if a Belarussian objected to the name _Vitryssland_,  but not
if he/she objected to the pronunciation thereof. That's a matter of principle
for _me_.

                                                Andreas