Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-02-18
NAMES IN ASIA.
Spelling and Pronunciation Of Places
in the Far East


in the Far East.
From the New York Tribune
The war in East Asia is preferable to our
old friend the war cloud in the Balkans in
one respect, namely, of the names it in
wolves. Turkish names were not particular
ly bad, nor Rumanian, but those of the
other lands and peoples involved were lit
orally unspeakable. For what mere Anglo
Saxon tongue can do justice to q name
which written displays one vowel and six
teen consonants. and spoken resembles
nothing so much as three coughs
and sneeze? In East Asia there is. of
course some incursion of Russian barba-
rites of speech. But so far as Japan, Ko-
rea and China are concerned, all Is pretty
easy writing and speaking. Short names,
Astounding in meledious yowels and liquid
consonants. make the local nomenclature a
thing of beauty and JOY.
In SO far as the names in question are at
adj perplexing, the circumstance Is due to
outside peryersity. The variorum editions
of some of the simplest and most musical
names are little short of distracting to
even the most pfiloSophic mind. The see
saw OF .COrea" and Korea" We can en-
dure. through long habituation. But what
shall be said of the name of the capital of
that country? We were brought up to
write 1t Seoul" But some of our neigh
bors persist in spelling 1t '.Seul." Others
aver that Soul is the only proper form
sun o1hers are satisfied with nothing but
Sui And now here comes an estimable
authority with the assurance that we shall
not know salvation unless we write 1t
Seyool In such case, what are we to
90! Can 1t Censtantineple" and go on to
the next word?
Well, the next is Manchuria. What Oh
Well, Aanchooria," If you please; or Man
chour1a, II you prefer; or ''Mantchuria.o if
you like that better: or 'Mantchoora." If
r. No.
won't be happy until you get it. All six
forms are in use. and for all we know. half
dozen more. Then there is Maukden. There
are those who regard with pity those who
know not Mukden," and also those who
are prepared to maintain 'Moolpden"
against all the world Nor does the arpoor
escape. Some insist that it is the Amour
while others with equal confidence proclaim
II The Amur OF course, too there is the
ala, or Yaleo; and also the Sunxari or
Soongar; likewise Chefoo or Chifoo. or
Ghefu. or Chifu; not to mention Tekio. or
Tokyo. and Fnsan, or Foo-San, and-but
that way madness lies.
1t is probably useless to protest against
such vagaries. There is no positive authors
" upon these names, since the Chinese and
Japanese originals are not spelled with let.
Iefs out are expressed with i1eographs
Each man VIII insist Interpreting them
as he pleases; and our elastic 1anguae e
makes II possible to express the same sound
win 90, or iou," or long ',u." Where
noweVer, sucn POSSIBILITY of diversity exists
with substantial Indifference among the
various forms. it Is great pity that uni
formfty cannot be agreed upon and stuck to
When the world has for many years been
accustomed to write Seoul and when that
form expressed the sound of the native
name as perfectly as any combination of
English letters could express 1t, where was
the good in inventing "Seul," and soul.
and SUI and '.Eeyoel?" Granted that
these also express the same identical sound
than the old form did and does: and there
is no use in discarding an old and familiar
thing for new and strange one unless
something is to be gained by the change.