why so many people mispell Bilbao by Bilboa?

You are so right! Even travel sites do it! (just google it and you'll see how many travel websites do!). Another one?; Grenada for Granada, Rhonda for Ronda.

Do you think it might be for the same reason that the word "offence" is often spelled with an "s" instead of a "c"?

It's probably due to a misplaced association with the name of the explorer Balboa.

And Grenada is a Caribbean island that was invaded by the Americans in 1983.

And it's not specific to spanish names, the same applies for french ones :
For instance Strausburg for Strasbourg, Sacre Couer for Sacre Coeur, tour Eifle for Tour Eiffel, not to mention all the excessive E : Saint-Germain becoming St-Germaine, Montmatre Montemarte, quatier latin -> latine quarter (or district) and so on
All the above spellings comming from english language guidebooks !

It's probably the same reason that so many folks misspell the word just before "bilbao" in the subject line

Margy

I think it's poor memory--maybe we need ginkgo bilbao.

I think they mix up "Bilbo" which is Euskera language and "Bilbao".

What's even more amazing is how many native English speakers on this forum ask for "advise" with their
"itinery."

Typos happen.

Mistakes happen.

Perhaps in the same way someone might accidently misspell <<mispell>> in their title.

I'm with the others. I can understand someone misspelling foreign words or names much more than I can understand someone misspelling such basic English words as offense or misspell. Most people learn to spell in their native language first, before worrying about the spelling of foreign words.

While there are many people who misspell words in their native language, I believe the two main examples here (Bilboa and mispell) are made by people for whom these words are not in their native language. I applaud them for having the courage to write in a language which is not their own and risk being criticized for their spelling.

They must be thinking of the great Basque hobbit, Bilboa Baggins.

My favourite bête noire is the increasingly common misspelling "Niagra" Is there some sort of Freudian slip here?

I don't criticize anyone's spelling here, English is not my first language and everybody can make a typo. But I'm not so generous with newspapers..they have dictionaries, they work with word processors that have spell checkers and they are supposed to be something "cultural", so I think they should take more care on that than the average writer on a forum in any language

<<<<<<
much more than I can understand someone misspelling such basic English words as offense
<<<<<

offence is spelled either way.

How about 'Isreal' instead of Israel?
Most Americans make that error.

"offence is spelled either way."

Ooops my apologies to those on "the other side of the pond" where that is true.

I’m more concerned about how words are misused rather than whether they’re misspelled.

A recent government report on hunger in America now refers to hunger as “low food security.”

Too many people in public life, especially politicians, use the dull, feckless word “unacceptable” to describe a situation, including catastrophes like genocide and famines.

Too many people parrot the meaningless phrases “quite frankly’ and “if you will.”

The word “bemused” is constantly misapplied. (It doesn’t mean “slightly amused.”)

“Disinterested“ and “uninterested” are too often confused.

Too many times I’ve heard a newsperson utter (or write the phrase) “Think again” as a sort of punch line after summarizing a situation.

That being said, I’m sure someonwe will find an error or two in the above — but I try.

I’ve found an error already in my last line.

Shame on me.

Ys, and too many people think everything is going to come out OK if those lazy good-for-nothing people who are starving or are on welfare just "work real hard like I did."

Perhaps when deciding between Bilbao/Bilboa they are distracted by thoughts of people around the world dying from war, starvation, genocide, disease, poverty, etc.

Let's not forget a major one, GivernEy for Giverny.

Giverney, you mean the ideal town for a trip the same day than Fountainbleu ?

Their is definately a shortadge of speling prowes, not jest in Fontainebleu (cheese?) and Bilboa but also in Sienna and Bordeau, in Viena, Stutgart, Heidelburg and Rothenberg ob der Tauber, Nürnburg and Interloken, to name only a few appeering ofen rite around hear.

Hey if the President (a graduate from Yale) says "nucular" instead of nuclear, why should we expect Average Joe to know how to spell Bilbao?

Well, no...Giverney would be on the same day as Chantille.

A graduate from Yale, or of Yale, and a graduate of what?

The spelling problem in America has become so severe that we must ask, as our current president already has:

“Is our children learning?”

I belive "Fussen" is on top of the list.

but since I can´t spell "belive"....

Most Americans misspell Israel? Hardly...

Because "ao" is an infrequent vowel combination in English, whereas "oa" is much more common. Has zero to do with intelligence or even laziness.

Mikelg:

Two reasons I believe:

- as LucieG points out, "ao" is an unfamiliar structure to most English speakers.
_we were all obliged to to learn the name of the fellow who discovered the Pacific Ocean [or at least 60 years ago [omG!] we were]. If Balboa had been from Bilbao we'd have it straight by now.

I repeat my earlier comment that I believe Bilbao has a bad "industrial" rep and deserves to be much higher on the "good places" list. The downtown is spectacular. Love Plaza Nueva.

At least!! Thank you Weber for giving a logical and phonetical explanation.

I´m sorry for misspelling "mispell", I´m not a native English speaker. I meant no offenCe (British spelling), I was just wondering why such an easy word is so frequently misspelt. And Bilbao is not a foreign word, it is the name of a city (there´s probably another one in the US), it´s also a surname. My question was focused on the reasons for the misspelling, not on a spelling contest to show how dumb some people are.

And thank you LucieV!!

On top of the Germany list are all those different varieties of -berg and -burg. Reading about Heidelburg (even better: Heidleburg), Hamberg, Nuremburg, Rothenberg all the time gives me the creeps.
No, -berg and -burg are not the same, they don't mean the same, and they are NOT pronounced the same. Except in English where both vowels are substituted by the same gargling sound.

"And Bilbao is not a foreign word, it is the name of a city"

It's a still a foreign word.

"And Bilbao is not a foreign word, it is the name of a city (there´s probably another one in the US), it´s also a surname."

I am unable to find a Bilbao in the US, but there is a Bilboa Island in California, so maybe that helps explain the reason for the often incorrect spelling. And while Bilbao may also be a surname, Bilboa is a more familiar one, as is Balboa, so it should be pretty easy to understand why "so many people mispell Bilbao by Bilboa" -- isn't it? Hope this makes the reasoning clearer to you.

In any case, it´s probably easier to misspell Bilbao than Yoknapatawpha (correct?), I reckon we pay more attention to the latter...

Sorry to misspell Bilbao, I am European and should now better.
I think we did get talked into a trip, organized, but we payed and like to make the best of it. Please Help. Should I rent a car??
The going to Paris portion will be the hard part. Crossing borders with a car and hopeful being able to leave it there.
Can anyone help?

I hate to tell you how many times Americans spell Manhattan, Manhatten on this board.

Teachers know that there are many ways to spell words and have them understood. Major institutions have 'style books' and suggest certain spellings. Travellers or travelers...Bejrut, Beirut, Beyrouth. Americans are limited to English, Europeans (27 EU countries) communicate in many languages. Phonetics comes into play and we often get words spelled in unusual ways. Is nitpicking more upsetting to you than simply ignoring the spelling gaffe? My stle book says that no spelling is wrong but that there may be a better way...Why do we have 'proofreaders'?

GSteed wrote: "My stle book says that no spelling is wrong..."

My style book says that "stle" is wrong.

Sorry..Thanks for the correction..note that one definition of 'style' is that it means, in accord with a prevailing mode.

You should hear how they pronounce names of places (like Vizcaya) or regions or Autonomous Communities: 'Costa' becomes 'Kasta,' for example.

People just don't give a damn.

GSteed wrote: "Sorry..Thanks for the correction"

It was too sweet an opportunity to pass.

and "note that one definition of 'style' is that it means, in accord with a prevailing mode."

Yes, but good style involves knowing which prevailing modes to follow. I'll resist txtspk.

People do often misspell words they don't use frequently. I don't think it's especially amazing, surprising, astounding. We should all try to spell correctly, but to call misspellings of words that are not commonly used by a particular individual "amazing" is a bit of an exaggeration.

I have noticed that my typing is sometimes a bit sloppy on-line, resulting in misspellings. I seem less likely to carefully check for typos on message boards and in emails than if I'm producing something on paper.

Mikelg, I hope you have resolved your angst over this issue and have moved on to other concerns. HTTY

Kaixo Mikel!
They are just being lazy, or have had too much patxarán. It happens.

What a dildao!

It´s a two year old post and it was just a matter of curiosity---sorry, I´m not a native English speaker and amazing may not have been the correct word to describe this "mistake". In any case, I didn´t try to be a smart **s and make fun of anyone, just tried to find an explanation for it. Period.

The misspelling of Bilbao as Bilboa, in Britain at least, has a long history. For whatever reason, the latter was the PREFERRED spelling in the 18th century and the first half of the 19th. In 1846 The Times published 49 articles with reference to the city in question, of which it was spelt Bilboa in 47. 1859 was the first year in which articles containing Bilbao (27) outnumbered those with Bilboa (16), but the latter fought a rearguard action; by 1874, although there were 184 with Bilboa, there was still one with Bilboa. Other British publications showed similar patterns.

Wow, that was interesting!! Thanks!

In any case, it´s Bilbao, definitely.

I'm still chuckling (over four years later) at the idea of someone complaining about spelling the name of a foreign city wrong (totally understandable in my book) while misspelling a simple work like offense while he's busy grousing about misspelling words. Too funny!

Sorry Neo, I´m not so lucky so as to be a native English speaker like yourself. Luckily, I speak and write Spanish, Basque, French and (poorly) English. My question, as a philologist (yes, I do hold a University degree), was to wonder why Bilbao is so frequently misspelt (misspelled, mispellt, misspeelt, mispelled...your liking) as Bilboa. There must be a logical reason, and that was the aim of my post. Nothing else.

Yes, I´m a native Vasque. Sorry, Baske.