I use Mumbai and Kolkata in both spoken and written English, as I understand that's what they are currently called having been renamed by the Indian govt several years ago. Pretentious, moi? My pet hates include a poorly fitted solar topee and the column change hysteresis on a Hindustan Ambassador.:biggrin:
Bombay is actually no longer called Bombay, Mumbai is correct as it changed its name, kinda like Istanbul / Constantinople
People who approach roundabouts on dual tracks in the left hand lane and turn right....People who tow caravans with underpowered cars.... Coat hangers.... Boy George's hats.... People who conduct reunions in the aisles of supermarkets.... People who park their vehicle at a fuel pump, don't buy any fuel and go inside to do their shopping.... Lack of common courtesy.... Shite TV, which these days is most of the rubbish being aired..... Litter.... Shops that don't have separate tills for the lottery.... Cellophane packaging that cannot be removed without damaging the goods inside.... Labels that cannot be removed without sulphuric acid.... Any vehicle designed by Hyundai.... Phrases like "big it up", "max it up", "go large".... Trousers worn by the 'yoof of today with the crotch at knee level. I call them "shat yourself trousers".... Everything else... LUISM...
Certainly Mumbai is correct, if you're in India speaking Hindi. München is correct, if you're in Germany speaking German. Firenze is correct, if you're in Italy speaking Italian. But if you're in England speaking English the names are Bombay, Munich and Florence. The English words for things cannot be altered by the governments or inhabitants of other countries - pedantic I know, but that was kind of my point.
No its not in this instance. Bombay is no longer a place as such. The city of Bombay was officially re named Mumbai by the Indian government in 1995. It's not a foreign dialect, its the correct name, so if you want to visit Bombay you will need a time machine.. Technically Bombay no longer exists, in the same way Rhodeisha (Zimbabwe) and Constantinople (Istanbul) no longer do. Mumbai is the correct English name now, not a Hindu or Indian equivalent.
London is the name of our capital. Many countries and cultures pronounce it the same as we do. many do not..... Londres (France, Catalan, Portuguese, Spanish) Landana (Hindi) Londen (Dutch) Londer (Albanian) Londono (Esperanto) Lontoo (Finnish) Londain (Irish) Londra (Italian, Romanian) Londonas (Lithuanian) Londyn (Polish) Llundain (Welsh) ..so why is it a problem if we pronounce Firenze as Florence? Also, how would non English speakers pronounce "Six Mile Bottom" or "Twatt"?
Someone told me it was to do with a protest against removal of belts in American prisons? Is that true, or was it really because the designers wanted an alternative to incontinence pants?
Only one way to confirm this - the British Airways list of destinations - which lists Munich and Florence as destinations but does not list Bombay or Calcutta, although they do fly to Mumbai and Kolkata. If your world atlas still show Ceylon and Formosa, and a lot of Countries still coloured in pink, it might be time to get a new one. Should be available in that there Londinium.
I think the BBC are the guilty party on that one Dave. I'm not doing smiley faces any more due to Pete1950 not liking them. Pete is responsible for my continued education of the English language and improvement of my spelling so I wouldn't want to upset him.
It's not just the Beeb, it's worldwide mate, and it's feckin' Bullshit !!!!!!! (and the excess exclamation marks are for someone else, can't remember who, but it upsets someone :biggrin
Another pet hate for me is when I go on track days and try to get in to a garage and get a power point. Oh know but I cant cause some people decide to bring the kitchen sink and there grandparents along with long lost friends with enough chairs for a garden party and sit in the garage. This is usually compounded by the fact they have a dock for there ipod which they plug in to a power point and play sh*t music all day. The biggest laugh is that they only usually do a couple of sessions and talk crap the rest of the day on how they nearly lost it and come out with stuff like "it was bottoming out" "the back end was spinning" "I had it sideways on" "the tyre was giving way" "the front end kept lifting" "I had it fully pinned"
Limp polystyrene coffee cups, how many times have you been given one of these filled right to the top, as you grab hold it's like self inflicted third degree burns as the coffee comes flooding over the top like mount Vesuvius
People who say Asterix (the character from the French Viking cartoon Asterix - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia), instead of the grammatically correct, 'asterisk' Asterisk - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.. Saying 'Columist' instead of 'Columnist' when referring to journalism.
Hanging on a 10p per min phone line listening to stupid music and many different options and still hanging on waiting for an operator and eventually speaking to someone that then asks for your life history before inquiring what your problem is and then to be told it was a problem at there end and he would put it right if i could just hang on a bit longer. Steve
