Originally Posted by Faedus

A point so far overlooked is that we English-speakers have a proud, centuries-old tradition of not referring to foreign places or nationalities by their real names. At least when we’re interested enough, we try very hard to seek alternatives. Thus to us, Deutschland is “Germany,” Ellada is “Greece,” and Suomi is “Finland.” (Obviously I could go on.) In fact, residents of the places whose names we mangle can obliquely feel flattered; at least we have noticed them. If we refer to a place or a society by its real name, it’s usually because we didn’t think it worth the trouble to find another one. (Example: the country known to its residents as Luxembourg, is also known to us English-speakers as Luxembourg.)

Furthermore, for a very long time, though not so much at present, we English-speakers felt that an authentic or contrived Latin name, if one could be found, was always better than the real one. (Thus, the medieval Spanish philosopher Ibn Rushd is known in the English world as Averröes.) Going back to the original comment, Apulia was the ancient Roman name for the south-easternmost part of Italy, and therefore preferable to whatever the Puglians themselves thought they were.

It’s not that we English-speakers are ill-intentioned; it’s just that after coming first to rule the seas, and then the world’s greatest empire, we instinctively, if maybe naively, came to believe that we knew better than anyone else, what the various parts of the world should be called. Now that the empire is “deep in darkness” (as The Pogues once observed), perhaps we should reconsider this approach, but the habits of centuries are hard to break!

A few additional comments on the original post:

[1] Technically, the only “correct” spelling of Ethiopia’s capital is in the Amharic script; anything else is a mere transliteration. There is really nothing wrong with “Addis Abbabba,” or “Adis Ababa,” but the consensus of western geographers appears to be “Addis Ababa” — though a recent English-language world atlas on my shelf gives “Adis Abeba.” (See what I mean?)
[2] I was a little surprised that the original poster was concerned about Apulia (for Puglia), but apparently not about Rome (for Roma), Venice (for Venezia), or Sicily (for Sicilia).

Originally Posted by Faedus

Originally Posted by Faedus

Originally Posted by Faedus

Having pursued this “thread” up to, or beyond the limits of interest, though without backing off from the positions staked out in my comments above, I will graciously admit to forgetting, too often, that in these up-tight and debased times, the art of ironic wit (often known by the common cliché “tongue-in-cheek") seems to have fallen by the wayside!

Originally Posted by shelemm

"The Art of Ironic Wit." A slim volume indeed. That belongs on my bookshelf alongside "The French Horn as a Percussion Instrument."