Editing Endonym and exonym (section)

== Usage ==
=== In avoiding exonyms ===
During the late 20th century, the use of exonyms often became controversial. Groups often prefer that outsiders avoid exonyms where they have come to be used in a [[pejorative]] way. For example, [[Romani people]] often prefer that term to exonyms such as ''[[names of the Romani people#Gypsy and gipsy|Gypsy]]'' (from the name of [[Egypt]]), and the French term {{lang|fr|[[bohemianism|bohémien]], bohème}} (from the name of [[Bohemia]]).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Challa |first1=Janaki |title=Why Being 'Gypped' Hurts The Roma More Than It Hurts You |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2013/12/30/242429836/why-being-gypped-hurts-the-roma-more-than-it-hurts-you |publisher=[[NPR]] |access-date=18 September 2023 |quote="Hancock tells me the word "gypsy" itself is an "exonym" – a term imposed upon an ethnic group by outsiders. When the Roma people moved westward from India towards the European continent, they were mistaken to be Egyptian because of their features and dark skin. We see the same phenomenon across several languages, not only English. Victor Hugo, in his epic Hunchback of Notre Dame, noted that the Medieval French term for the Roma was egyptiens. In Spanish, the word for gypsy is "gitano," which comes from the word egipcio, meaning Egyptian – in Romanian: tigan, in Bulgarian: tsiganin, in Turkish: cingene – all of which are variations of slang words for "Egyptian" in those languages.“}}</ref> People may also avoid exonyms for reasons of historical sensitivity, as in the case of German names for Polish and Czech places that, at one time, had been ethnically or politically German (e.g. Danzig/[[Gdańsk]], Auschwitz/[[Oświęcim]] and Karlsbad/[[Karlovy Vary]]); and Russian names for non-Russian locations that were subsequently renamed or had their spelling changed (e.g. Kiev/[[Kyiv]]).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Van der Meulen |first1=Martin |title=Why I Will Never Again Refer to the Ukrainian Capital City as Kiev |date=19 April 2022 |url=https://www.the-low-countries.com/article/why-i-will-never-again-refer-to-the-ukrainian-capital-city-as-kiev |publisher=The Low Countries |access-date=18 September 2023}}</ref>

In recent years, [[geographer]]s have sought to reduce the use of exonyms to avoid this kind of problem. For example, it is now common for Spanish speakers to refer to the Turkish capital as [[Ankara]] rather than use the Spanish exonym {{lang|es|Angora}}.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Luxán |first1=Marga Azcárate |last2=Tagle |first2=Bárbara Alonso |title=EXONYMS IN SPANISH Criteria and usage in cartography |url=https://www.ign.es/resources/acercaDe/libDigPub/exonyms_in_spanish.pdf |publisher=NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC INSTITUTE OF SPAIN (IGN) |access-date=18 September 2023}}</ref> Another example, it is now common for Italian speakers to refer to some African states as [[Mauritius]] and [[Seychelles]] rather than use the Italian exonyms ''Maurizio'' and ''Seicelle''.<ref>Sandro Toniolo, ''I perché e i nomi della geografia'', Istituto Geografico Militare, Florence 2005, p. 88–89, n. 170-171.</ref> According to the [[United Nations Statistics Division]]:

<blockquote>Time has, however, shown that initial ambitious attempts to rapidly decrease the number of exonyms were over-optimistic and not possible to realise in an intended way. The reason would appear to be that many exonyms have become common words in a language and can be seen as part of the language's cultural heritage.</blockquote>

=== In preference of exonyms ===
{{unreferenced section|date=July 2020}}
In some situations, the use of exonyms can be preferred. For instance, in [[multilingualism|multilingual]] cities such as [[Brussels]], which is known for its linguistic tensions between Dutch- and French-speakers, a neutral name may be preferred so as to not offend anyone. Thus, an exonym such as Brussels in English could be used instead of favoring either one of the local names ([[Dutch language|Dutch]]/[[Flemish dialects|Flemish]]: {{lang|nl|Brussel}}; [[French language|French]]: {{lang|fr|Bruxelles}}).

Other difficulties with endonyms have to do with pronunciation, spelling, and [[part of speech|word category]]. The endonym may include sounds and spellings that are highly unfamiliar to speakers of other languages, making appropriate usage difficult if not impossible for an outsider. Over the years, the endonym may have undergone [[phonetics|phonetic]] changes, either in the original language or the borrowing language, thus changing an endonym into an exonym, as in the case of ''Paris'', where the ''s'' was formerly pronounced in French. Another example is the endonym for the German city of [[Cologne]], where the [[Latin]] original of {{lang|la|Colonia}} has evolved into {{lang|de|Köln}} in German, while the Italian and Spanish exonym {{lang|it|Colonia}} or the Portuguese {{lang|pt|Colónia}} closely reflects the Latin original.

In some cases, no [[standard language|standardised spelling]] is available, either because the language itself is unwritten (even unanalysed) or because there are competing non-standard spellings. Use of a misspelled endonym is perhaps more problematic than the respectful use of an existing exonym.{{Citation needed|date=November 2022}} Finally, an endonym may be a [[plural]] noun and may not naturally extend itself to [[adjective phrase|adjectival]] usage in another language like English, which has the propensity to use the adjectives for describing culture and language.{{Citation needed|date=November 2022}}

=== Official preferences ===
Sometimes the government of a country tries to endorse the use of an endonym instead of traditional exonyms outside the country:
* In 1782, [[Rama I|King Yotfa Chulalok]] of [[Rattanakosin Kingdom|Siam]] moved the government seat from [[Bangkok Yai District|Thon Buri Province]] to [[Phra Nakhon District|Phra Nakhon Province]]. In 1972 the [[Thai Government|Thai government]] merged Thon Buri and Phra Nakhon, forming the new capital, Krungthep Mahanakhon. However, outside of Thailand, the capital retained the old name and is still called [[Bangkok]].
* In 1935, [[Reza Shah]] requested that foreign nations use the name [[Iran]] rather than Persia in official correspondence.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Press |first=Stanford University |title=Start reading The Discovery of Iran |url=https://www.sup.org/books/extra/?id=33828&i=Introduction%20Excerpt.html |access-date=2024-03-11 |website=sup.org |language=en}}</ref> The name of the country had [[Name of Iran|internally been Iran]] since the time of the [[Sassanid Empire]] (224–651), whereas the name Persia is descended from [[Greek language|Greek]] {{lang|el-latn|Persis}} (''{{lang|el|Περσίς}}''), referring to a single province which is officially known as [[Fars province]].
* In 1949, the government of [[Siam]] changed the name to [[Thailand]], although the former name's adjective in English (''Siamese'') was retained as the name for the [[Siamese fighting fish|fish]], [[Siamese (cat)|cat]] and [[conjoined twins]].
* In 1972, the government of [[Ceylon]] (the word is the [[anglicized]] form of Portuguese {{lang|pt|Ceilão}}) changed the name to [[Sri Lanka]], although the name Ceylon was retained as the name for [[Ceylon tea|that type of tea]].
* In 1985, the government of [[Côte d'Ivoire]] requested that the country's French name be used in all languages instead of exonyms such as ''[[Ivory Coast]]'',<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Ninth United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names |url=https://unstats.un.org/unsd/geoinfo/ungegn/docs/9th-uncsgn-docs/crp/9th_UNCSGN_e-conf-98-crp-32.pdf |access-date=11 March 2024 |website=[[United Nations Statistics Division]]}}</ref> so that Côte d'Ivoire is now the official English name of that country in the [[United Nations]] and the [[International Olympic Committee]] (see [[Côte d'Ivoire#Etymology|name of Côte d'Ivoire]]). In most non-[[Francophone]] countries, however, the French version has not entered common parlance. For example, in German, the country is known as {{lang|de|die Elfenbeinküste}}, in Spanish as {{lang|es|Costa de Marfil}} and in Italian as {{lang|it|Costa d'Avorio}}.
* In 1989, the [[government of Burma]] requested that the English name of the country be [[Myanmar]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-02-02 |title=Myanmar, Burma and why the different names matter |url=https://apnews.com/article/myanmar-burma-different-names-explained-8af64e33cf89c565b074eec9cbe22b72 |access-date=2024-03-11 |agency=Associated Press |language=en}}</ref> with ''Myanma'' as the adjective of the country and ''Bamar'' as the name of the inhabitants (see [[names of Burma]]).
* The [[Government of India]] officially changed the English name of Bombay to [[Mumbai]] in November 1995,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Beam |first=Christopher |date=2006-07-12 |title=Mumbai? What About Bombay? |url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2006/07/how-bombay-became-mumbai.html |access-date=2024-03-11 |work=Slate |language=en-US |issn=1091-2339}}</ref> following a trend of [[Renaming of cities in India|renaming of cities and states in India]] that has occurred since independence.
* The [[Ukraine|Ukrainian]] government maintains that the capital of Ukraine should be spelled ''Kyiv'' in English<ref name=":2" /> because the traditional English exonym ''Kiev'' was derived from the Russian name {{lang|ru-latn|Kiyev}} (''{{lang|ru|Киев}}'') (see [[Name of Kyiv]]).
* The [[Belarus]]ian government argues that the endonym ''Belarus'' should be used in all languages.<ref name=":2" /> The result has been rather successful in English, where the former exonym ''Byelorussia''/''Belorussia'', still used with reference to the [[Byelorussian SSR|Soviet Republic]], has virtually died out; in other languages, exonyms are still much more common than ''Belarus'', for instance in [[Danish language|Danish]] {{lang|da|[[:da:Hviderusland|Hviderusland]]}}, Dutch {{lang|nl|[[:nl:Wit-Rusland|Wit-Rusland]]}}, [[Estonian language|Estonian]] {{lang|et|[[:et:Valgevene|Valgevene]]}}, [[Faroese language|Faroese]] {{lang|fo|[[:fo:Hvítarussland|Hvítarussland]]}}, Finnish {{lang|fi|[[:fi:Valko-Venäjä|Valko-Venäjä]]}}, German {{lang|de|[[:de:Weißrussland|Weißrussland]]}}, Greek {{lang|el-latn|Lefkorosía}} ({{lang|el|[[:el:Λευκορωσία|Λευκορωσία]]}}), Hungarian {{lang|hu|[[:hu:Fehéroroszország|Fehéroroszország]]}}, Icelandic {{lang|is|[[:is:Hvíta-Rússland|Hvíta-Rússland]]}}, [[Swedish language|Swedish]] {{lang|sv|[[:sv:Vitryssland|Vitryssland]]}}, Turkish {{lang|tr|[[:tr:Beyaz Rusya|Beyaz Rusya]]}}, Chinese {{lang|zh-latn|Bái'èluósī}} (''{{lang|zh|[[:zh:白俄罗斯|白俄罗斯]]}}''), [[Arabic]] {{lang|ar-latn|rusia albayda'}} ({{lang|ar|[[:ar:روسيا البيضاء|روسيا البيضاء]]}}) (all literally 'White Russia'), or French {{lang|fr|[[:fr:Biélorussie|Biélorussie]]}}, Italian {{lang|it|[[:it:Bielorussia|Bielorussia]]}}, Portuguese {{lang|pt|[[:pt:Bielorrússia|Bielorrússia]]}}, Spanish {{lang|es|[[:es:Bielorrusia|Bielorrusia]]}}, and [[Serbian language|Serbian]] {{lang|sr-latn|Belorusija}} ({{lang|sr|[[:sr:Белорусија|Белорусија]]}}).
* The government of [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]] has been working to have the country renamed from the Russian-derived exonym of {{lang|ru-latn|Gruzia}} in foreign languages to ''Georgia''. Most countries have adopted this change, except for [[Lithuania]], which adopted {{lang|lt|Sakartvelas}} (a Lithuanianised version of the country's endonym). As a response, Georgia changed the name of Lithuania in Georgian from the Russian-derived {{lang|ka-latn|Lit’va}} (''{{lang|ka|ლიტვა}}'') to the endonym {{lang|ka-latn|Liet’uva}} (''{{lang|ka|ლიეტუვა}}''). Ukrainian politicians have also suggested that Ukraine change the Ukrainian name of Georgia from {{lang|uk-latn|Hruzia}} (''{{lang|uk|Грузія}}'') to {{lang|uk-latn|Sakartvelo}} (''{{lang|uk|Сакартвело}}'').
* In 2006, the [[South Korea]]n national government officially changed the Chinese name of its capital, [[Seoul]], from the exonym ''{{lang|zh|漢城/汉城}}'' ({{lang|zh-latn|Hànchéng}}) derived from the [[Joseon]] era [[Hanja]] name ({{Korean|hangul=한성|hanja=漢城|rr=Hanseong}}) to {{lang|zh-latn|Shǒu'ěr}} (''{{lang|zh|首爾/首尔}}''). This use has now been made official within China.
* In December 2021, a circular was issued by President [[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan]] of [[Turkey]] ordering the use of Türkiye (also rendered Turkiye in English) instead of exonyms in official communications, no matter the language.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Turkiye – The latest news from TRT World |url=https://www.trtworld.com/turkey |access-date=2022-01-02 |website=Turkiye – The latest news from TRT World}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Why Turkey is now 'Turkiye', and why that matters |url=https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/why-turkey-is-now-turkiye-and-why-that-matters-52602 |access-date=2022-01-02 |website=Why Turkey is now 'Turkiye', and why that matters |archive-date=2023-02-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230209232534/https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/why-turkey-is-now-turkiye-and-why-that-matters-52602 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

=== Hanyu Pinyin ===
{{see also|Chinese language romanization in Taiwan|Chinese language romanisation in Singapore}}
Following the 1979 declaration of [[Hanyu Pinyin]] spelling as the standard [[romanisation of Chinese]], many Chinese endonyms have successfully replaced English exonyms,<ref>{{Cite book |title=Eighth United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names Berlin, 27 August-5 September 2002 |date=2003 |publisher=United Nations |isbn=92-1-100915-4 |location=New York |oclc=52095159}}</ref> especially city and most provincial names in [[mainland China]], for example: [[Beijing]] ({{lang-zh|c=北京|s=|t=|p=Běijīng|labels=no}}), [[Qingdao]] (''{{lang-zh|c=青岛|s=|t=|p=Qīngdǎo|labels=no}}''), and the province of [[Guangdong]] (''{{lang-zh|c=广东|s=|t=|p=Guǎngdōng|labels=no}}''). However, older English exonyms are sometimes used in certain contexts, for example: Peking (Beijing; [[Peking duck|duck]], [[Peking opera|opera]], etc.), Tsingtao (Qingdao), and Canton (Guangdong). In some cases the traditional English exonym is based on a local [[Chinese variety]] instead of [[Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin]], in the case of [[Xiamen]], where the name Amoy is closer to the [[Hokkien]] pronunciation.

In the case of ''Beijing'', the adoption of the exonym by media outlets quickly gave rise to a [[hyperforeignism|hyperforeignised]] pronunciation, with the result that many English speakers actualize the ''j'' in ''Beijing'' as {{IPAc-en|ʒ}}.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lima |first=Susan D. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/746747262 |title=The Reality of Linguistic Rules. |date=1994 |publisher=John Benjamins Pub. Co |isbn=978-90-272-8203-3 |editor-last=Corrigan |editor-first=Roberta |location=Amsterdam/Philadelphia |page=80 |oclc=746747262 |editor-last2=Iverson |editor-first2=Gregory K.}}</ref> One exception of Pinyin standardization in mainland China is the spelling of the province [[Shaanxi]], which is the mixed [[Gwoyeu Romatzyh]]–Pinyin spelling of the province. That is because if Pinyin were used to spell the province, it would be indistinguishable from its neighboring province [[Shanxi]], where the pronunciations of the two provinces only differ by tones, which are usually not written down when used in English.

In Taiwan, however, the standardization of Hanyu Pinyin has only seen mixed results. In [[Taipei]], most (but not all) street and district names shifted to Hanyu Pinyin. For example, the Sinyi District is now spelled [[Xinyi District, Taipei|Xinyi]]. However, districts like [[Tamsui District|Tamsui]] and even Taipei itself are not spelled according to Hanyu Pinyin spelling rules. As a matter of fact, most names of Taiwanese cities are still spelled using [[Chinese postal romanization]], including [[Taipei]], [[Taichung]], [[Taitung City|Taitung]], [[Keelung]], and [[Kaohsiung]].

During the 1980s, the Singapore Government encouraged the use of Hanyu Pinyin spelling for place names, especially those with Teochew, Hokkien or Cantonese names, as part of the [[Speak Mandarin Campaign]] to promote Mandarin and discourage the use of dialects. For example, the area of Nee Soon, named after [[Teochew people|Teochew]]-Peranakan businessman [[Lim Nee Soon]] (Hanyu Pinyin: Lín Yìshùn) became Yishun and the neighbourhood schools and places established following the change used the Hanyu Pinyin spelling. In contrast, [[Hougang]] is the Hanyu Pinyin spelling but the Hokkien pronunciation ''au-kang'' is most commonly used.<ref>{{cite book|title=Toponymics: A Study of Singapore Street Names|last1= Savage|first1=Victor R.|last2=Yeoh |first2=Brenda S.|edition=3rd|year=2013|publisher=[[Marshall Cavendish]]|isbn=9789814408356}}</ref> The changes to Hanyu Pinyin were not only financially costly but were unpopular with the locals, who opined that the Hanyu Pinyin versions were too difficult for non-Chinese or non-Mandarin speakers to pronounce. The government eventually stopped the changes by the 1990s, which has led to some place names within a locality having differing spellings. For example, Nee Soon Road and the [[Singapore Armed Forces]] base Nee Soon Camp are both located in Yishun but retained the old spelling.<ref>Yeh, Yun-Tsui. (2013) "[https://www.rchss.sinica.edu.tw/files/publish/1217_ff4a4d61.pdf Erased Place Names" and Nation-building: A Case Study of Singaporean Toponyms]". ''[[Sociology (journal)|Sociology]]''.</ref>