Every
translator will tell you that names of places do not get translated. They just
stay as they are. There are however,
some linguistically curious, not to mention challenging names that do get
translated. Sometimes it is not so much the difficulty of pronouncing those
names in their original languages - which are usually rare - that justifies the translation, but the wish
to convey the beauty of a name to a wider audience. Let us take a look at just
a small sample of some interesting geographical names.
According
to the 2009 Guinness Book of Records, there is a hill in New Zealand in the
Hawke's Bay region which has the longest name on the world. It is called:
Taumatawhakatancichancakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimauncahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu
– which
in the Maori language means " The summit where Tamatea, the man with the big knees, the
climber of mountains, the land-swallower who travelled about, played his nose flute to his loved one". This name is
frequently shortened to Taumata.
Other parts of the world have their gems as well. There is a village
whose name is the longest officially recognized place name in the United
Kingdom. That name is:
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. The village
is located in Wales on the island of Anglesey. The shortened version is
Llanfair PG or Llanfairpwll. The meaning of the name is: "ST. MARYS CHURCH
IN THE HOLLOW OF THE WHITE HAZEL NEAR TO THE RAPID WHIRLPOOL OF LLANTYSILIO OF
THE RED CAVE."
Not as long, but nicely sounding is the Pino
sulla Sponda del Lago Maggiore. It is a village and municipality in the Italian
region of Lombardy.
How about hyphenated names? The
longest hyphenated name of a place in the United States in
Winchester-on-the-Severn in the state of Maryland.
In Mexico, there is this small
village in the state of Michoacan. It is
called Nuevo San Juan Parangaricutiro and is situated near the Paricutin
volcano. Shorter, unofficial names are used to refer to this village, like
"San Juan" or "Nuevo San Juan", among other.
There is also a lake in the state
of Massachusetts called Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg, now
its name is: Chargoggaggoggmancogmanhoggagogg, also known as
Lake Chaubunagungamaug or Webster Lake. Its name comes from the Algonquian Indian language
and means: "Fishing Place at the Boundaries – Neutral Meetings
Ground".
There must be something about
giving lakes lengthy names because the longest name of a place in Canada is…a
lake. It is: Pekwachnamaykoskwaskwaypinwanik,
located in Manitoba and Nunavut and its name literally means: "where the
wild trout are caught by fishing with hooks." Lovely!
But there is also a hill in Australia called: Mamungkukumpurangkuntjunya
Hill. It is believed that this name in the Pitjantjatjara language means:
"where the devil urinates". How about that for a vacation
destination? "I am going hiking to
the place "where the devil urinates". It's going to be grand!
Now, if you were planning a trip to Bangkok, instead of
saying so, why not just say: "I have relatives in Thailand and I will stop
in Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Yuthaya Mahadilok Phop
Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan
Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit for a couple of
days." Actually, this is the official name of Bangkok which translates as
the poetic and invitingly intriguing: "The great city of angels, the
supreme unconquerable land of the great immortal divinity (Indra), the royal
capital of nine noble gems, the pleasant city with plenty of grand royal
palaces and divine paradises for the reincarnated deity." How about that?
Makes me want to pack a bag and catch the next airplane to Bangkok.
Well, long names can make
great conversations, but maybe the thing to do is to just keep it short and
sweet and say: "hey, I'm going to Sé" – central borough in
Sao Paulo, Brazil.
