Problem
How do you spell the country's name? Who has the right to say how it should be spelled? Do we have to use the same name as that used by the inhabitants of the country?
Answers
Let us be logical. When I started my degree course in Philosophy at University College, London, we were taught that to say that something is the case does not mean that it ought to be the case. That seems like an obvious point. However, there is a school of thought that is traditional and says, 'what's the hurry', 'this is how it has always been done,' and 'if it ain't broke don't fix it.' Some like to build and embellish. Other take the view that one should be simplifying.
I read, probably in Wikipedia, that the name before WWII was Roumania in Roumania. The Americans, following Webster who simplified spelling to make it easier, adopted the spelling Rumania, which was how it sounded to them.
The 'Roumanians' preferred the o spelling because that reflected their origins, related to the Romans. The double letter OU spelling only has the advantage that it reflects both points of view. I am gradually moving towards the idea of Romania.
Now I am finding that spell checker keeps changing the spelling to Romania. That settles it!
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
How do you spell the country's name? Who has the right to say how it should be spelled? Do we have to use the same name as that used by the inhabitants of the country?
Answers
Let us be logical. When I started my degree course in Philosophy at University College, London, we were taught that to say that something is the case does not mean that it ought to be the case. That seems like an obvious point. However, there is a school of thought that is traditional and says, 'what's the hurry', 'this is how it has always been done,' and 'if it ain't broke don't fix it.' Some like to build and embellish. Other take the view that one should be simplifying.
I read, probably in Wikipedia, that the name before WWII was Roumania in Roumania. The Americans, following Webster who simplified spelling to make it easier, adopted the spelling Rumania, which was how it sounded to them.
The 'Roumanians' preferred the o spelling because that reflected their origins, related to the Romans. The double letter OU spelling only has the advantage that it reflects both points of view. I am gradually moving towards the idea of Romania.
Now I am finding that spell checker keeps changing the spelling to Romania. That settles it!
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
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