Vientiane should be rewritten.

Laos2beLaos · Senior Member

Vientiane should be rewritten.

SeeHarHed · Guru

If you go by the sound of lao pronunciation. It should be ViengJun.

CATrider · Newbie

VIENG-JUNN with a NN at the end sound more fluent pronunciation to Laos saying

Date: May 21, 2009

IT SHOULD BE VIENG-JUN, THIS LAO PRONUNCIATION, NOT VIENG-CHUN OR VIENTIANE,SO WHAT DO YOU THINK?

bip_01 · Senior Member

if you write it like viang chan people will pronounce it like Jackie Chan. confuse

and if viang jan people will say it like jan in janitor

-- Edited by bip_01 on Friday 22nd of May 2009 12:21:10 AM

chiip · Guru

I really don't see any need, all people arrround the world know the capital of laos as Vientiane not as viengjunn or viengchan and so on...

Date: May 22, 2009

chiip wrote:

I really don't see any need, all people arrround the world know the capital of laos as Vientiane not as viengjunn or viengchan and so on...

India managed to get the world to recognise the changes:
Bombay --> Mumbai
Calcutta --> Kolkata

Vientiane - most people (except Lao & French speakers) pronounce it as 'wien tien' (candlelight procession around the temple), even foreign newsreaders :P

Date: May 22, 2009

I think it should be Wieng Chan.

Date: May 23, 2009

Long Live Vientiane!
Vientiane forever!

Date: May 23, 2009

I DON'T THINK WE NEED TO CHANG ANY THING, IF IT'S NOT BROOKEN SO DON'T FIX IT.......OK

Date: May 23, 2009

why? because foreigners pronounce it 'Vien-Tiane' meaning the candlelight procession around That Luang or temple.
anyway, I think it's too late now, it should be rewritten when the French left.
Burma changed their name to Myanmar...so why can't Vientiane be spelled the way we pronounce it in Lao.

ban nok · Senior Member

When are Lao speakers going to stop calling the English Language pasa Angit?

Ah mahdee kah = America?

khonthakek · Guru

it is like you can't change Khonthakek to Khonvientiane, if you change it's different people

Date: May 23, 2009

ban nok wrote:

When are Lao speakers going to stop calling the English Language pasa Angit?

Ah mahdee kah = America?

When? until Americans can say L A O correctly, instead of Lay - OS.

ban nok · Senior Member

Languages are funny that way.

When we say the name of a different country or people if they are a close country we often say it the way the people do, if the country is further a field we mispronounce it to make it easier for us to say. The Chinese are great at adapting western names to fit broadly into similar sounds and also to have a meaning in the written form that says something about the proper noun they are naming. Makes it easy for them to say and easy for them to remember.

They say something like Mweigwo for America, translates into beautiful land.

We do the same thing with the Chinese and China, after all they certainly don't call themselves Jin, or Chinese, they are Zhong Gwo.

Some amusing examples of how Lao change names after the French originaly changed them are Ottalik from Austria and Bensik from Belgium

Or in English Germany, but the french call it Allemagne, and the Germans call it Deutschland

This process of changing the pronunciation of a borrowed word to conform to the conventions of the borrowing language is called indigenisation.

I borrowed most of this from an article by Nick Enfield
http://www.mpi.nl/people/enfield-nick

Date: May 24, 2009

SeeHarHed wrote:

If you go by the sound of lao pronunciation. It should be ViengJun.

How about ວຽງຈັນທ໌ Is that sound cool.

puma585 · Member

Yeah, but we cant write it like that here in US, ວຽງຈັນທ໌.

Date: Jul 26, 2009

chiip wrote:

I really don't see any need, all people arrround the world know the capital of laos as Vientiane not as viengjunn or viengchan and so on...

I do agree with you, just take it as it used to be called. as long as we meant Capital city of Laos, whatever the ponounciation will be.
Nothing to loss....

Date: Jul 27, 2009

There is nothing missing spelling of " Vientiane " DO NOT change it anything OK

Have a Good Day All

Date: Jul 27, 2009

I do agree with you, just take it as it used to be called. as long as we meant Capital city of Laos, whatever the ponounciation will be.
Nothing to loss.....................................................................................

are you sure, we have nothing to loss ?
make a simple math, how much do we have to spend for changing all the paper work ?
changing all gov. documentation, changing.......................................... and to educate the world about the new name ? if we have surplus of $ we would spend on developing the country, infrastructure and to produce more needed food than changing the name. i think, if it is so important thing to do, is changing the capital of the country's name, it's better to do when we have nothing to do. right now we have too many thing to do and it's hard which one to start. i m sure changing the name is not priority.

my2cent

Date: Jul 27, 2009

Anonymous wrote:

I do agree with you, just take it as it used to be called. as long as we meant Capital city of Laos, whatever the ponounciation will be.
Nothing to loss.....................................................................................

are you sure, we have nothing to loss ?
make a simple math, how much do we have to spend for changing all the paper work ?
changing all gov. documentation, changing.......................................... and to educate the world about the new name ? if we have surplus of $ we would spend on developing the country, infrastructure and to produce more needed food than changing the name. i think, if it is so important thing to do, is changing the capital of the country's name, it's better to do when we have nothing to do. right now we have too many thing to do and it's hard which one to start. i m sure changing the name is not priority.

my2cent

Oh comeon, why you are going so far.
Dont you read my comment above? before make this complain.
I said: Capital city name is ok, it is not important matter at all, nothing wrong nothing to loss with that. I didnt say about CHANGING THE NAME at all.

Date: Jul 27, 2009

Anonymous wrote:
my bad,
my take was to the author of the topic, not to you, my deeply apology.
peace.
my2cent

Anonymous wrote:

I do agree with you, just take it as it used to be called. as long as we meant Capital city of Laos, whatever the ponounciation will be.
Nothing to loss.....................................................................................

are you sure, we have nothing to loss ?
make a simple math, how much do we have to spend for changing all the paper work ?
changing all gov. documentation, changing.......................................... and to educate the world about the new name ? if we have surplus of $ we would spend on developing the country, infrastructure and to produce more needed food than changing the name. i think, if it is so important thing to do, is changing the capital of the country's name, it's better to do when we have nothing to do. right now we have too many thing to do and it's hard which one to start. i m sure changing the name is not priority.

my2cent

Oh comeon, why you are going so far.
Dont you read my comment above? before make this complain.
I said: Capital city name is ok, it is not important matter at all, nothing wrong nothing to loss with that. I didnt say about CHANGING THE NAME at all.

Date: Jul 28, 2009

I think it should spell as Viengjanh if write like Viengjun it will sound like Vieng Joon .

Date: Jul 28, 2009

JUST SHUT UP AND FOLLOW WHAT IT IS.....GUY''''

chiip · Guru

why changing it ? Vientiane is the name of our capital that I love so much, change the education system, change the corruption law, the drugs law but please don't change the name of our capital, it is not a broken name after all.

Laos2beLaos · Senior Member

chiip wrote:

why changing it ? Vientiane is the name of our capital that I love so much, change the education system, change the corruption law, the drugs law but please don't change the name of our capital, it is not a broken name after all.

You misunderstand the topic. Rewriting , not changing name. When you read Vientiane, like you read Vien Tiane, it doesn't sound Viang Jan a bit. Look at example, Beijing. Before Beijing, who know what was it? Myanmar, before that what was it?

Date: Jul 29, 2009

still i find no merit to do so, why rewrite? if not then?