-:Undertaker:-
19-04-2018, 11:50 PM
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-43821512
King of Swaziland changes name of country
Kingdom of Swaziland now known officially as the Kingdom of eSwatini
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/04/09/09/4AFA39D900000578-5593557-image-a-20_1523262423308.jpg
King Mswati III of Swaziland, or eSwatini
There are not many people in the world who are able to change the name of a nation. But King Mswati can - he is one of the world's few absolute monarchs.
King Mswati III of Swaziland announced on Wednesday that he was renaming the country "the Kingdom of eSwatini".
The monarch announced the official change in a stadium during celebrations for the 50th anniversary of Swazi independence.
The celebrations also marked the king's 50th birthday.
The new name, eSwatini, means "land of the Swazis". The change was unexpected, but King Mswati has been referring to Swaziland for years as eSwatini.
It was the name the king used when he addressed the UN general assembly in 2017 and at the state opening of the country's parliament in 2014.
He explained that the name had caused some confusion, saying: "Whenever we go abroad, people refer to us as Switzerland."
The BBC's Nomsa Maseko in Swaziland says the announcement of the name change has angered some in the country, who believe the king should focus more on the nation's sluggish economy and HIV epidemic.
I can't say I have ever heard anyone confuse Switzerland with Swaziland... not really that easy to confuse really, are they? Anyway, can't see this catching on as the new name sounds like an internet search engine - a bit like Czechia being used for the Czech Republic, does anyone actually use that? I certainly don't and haven't heard it either!
I don't really like people changing names for whatever reason anyway of places, unless in really rare circumstances usually where a place has been recently changed anyway so for example Saint Petersburg to Petrograd to Leningrad and back to Saint Petersburg all in the space of a century. Restoring the old name in that case made absolute sense.
It always seems to me to be whitewashing history or is the work of dodgy groups in a country when names of places are changed. To me, the Chinese capital Beijing is still Peking - well you wouldn't call Prague Praha, would you? - and Mumbai is still Bombay, Ho Chi Minh City is still Saigon, Guangzhou is still Canton and so on and so forth. Hands off history.
Thoughts?
King of Swaziland changes name of country
Kingdom of Swaziland now known officially as the Kingdom of eSwatini
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/04/09/09/4AFA39D900000578-5593557-image-a-20_1523262423308.jpg
King Mswati III of Swaziland, or eSwatini
There are not many people in the world who are able to change the name of a nation. But King Mswati can - he is one of the world's few absolute monarchs.
King Mswati III of Swaziland announced on Wednesday that he was renaming the country "the Kingdom of eSwatini".
The monarch announced the official change in a stadium during celebrations for the 50th anniversary of Swazi independence.
The celebrations also marked the king's 50th birthday.
The new name, eSwatini, means "land of the Swazis". The change was unexpected, but King Mswati has been referring to Swaziland for years as eSwatini.
It was the name the king used when he addressed the UN general assembly in 2017 and at the state opening of the country's parliament in 2014.
He explained that the name had caused some confusion, saying: "Whenever we go abroad, people refer to us as Switzerland."
The BBC's Nomsa Maseko in Swaziland says the announcement of the name change has angered some in the country, who believe the king should focus more on the nation's sluggish economy and HIV epidemic.
I can't say I have ever heard anyone confuse Switzerland with Swaziland... not really that easy to confuse really, are they? Anyway, can't see this catching on as the new name sounds like an internet search engine - a bit like Czechia being used for the Czech Republic, does anyone actually use that? I certainly don't and haven't heard it either!
I don't really like people changing names for whatever reason anyway of places, unless in really rare circumstances usually where a place has been recently changed anyway so for example Saint Petersburg to Petrograd to Leningrad and back to Saint Petersburg all in the space of a century. Restoring the old name in that case made absolute sense.
It always seems to me to be whitewashing history or is the work of dodgy groups in a country when names of places are changed. To me, the Chinese capital Beijing is still Peking - well you wouldn't call Prague Praha, would you? - and Mumbai is still Bombay, Ho Chi Minh City is still Saigon, Guangzhou is still Canton and so on and so forth. Hands off history.
Thoughts?