Talk:Chisinau

Re "also Chiinau": is this an error caused by a missing accented letter? The Romanian name has s-cedilla (Unicode 351) or more accurately s-comma, and I think the second a is a-breve (Unicode 259).

It's time to remove Chiinau. Fransvannes 13:45 Feb 1, 2003 (UTC)

Let's not have a Gdansk/Danzig thing here

I realise that Moldovans may not like that English texts continue in part to use the Russian name for their capital, but the fact is that they do. On known English language domains (.edu, .au and .uk) Google gives 13.800 hits for Chisinau and 5.650 for Kishinev. There's even over 2000 hits for Kishinev on the Moldovan domain, .md. Chisinau is gaining in usage, plus it's the official name. That's why I clearly give Chisinau priority in my wording. But the fact remains that Kishinev is one of English names for the city. Zocky 18:36, 29 Dec 2004 (UTC)

But isn't Kishinev just another transliteration of Russian Кишинёв ? Bogdan | Talk 18:37, 29 Dec 2004 (UTC)

I agree (I am Moldovan, even if my name sounds Russian). Saying Kishinev is same as using Moldavia for Moldova. It is nothing but the Russian version of the name, and I think this needs to be made clear. So Kishnev should go in the parantheses, together with the other transliterations from Russian. Oleg Alexandrov 19:06, 29 Dec 2004 (UTC)

It is, but it's really an issue of which name English speakers (and writers) use for the city. The fact is that Kishinev was traditionally used adn and still is to some extent. Read talk:Oder/Odra and talk:Gdansk/Danzig for extensive discussions on the topic. To give just the most common example: I'm sure there's a name for Vienna in your language different than Wien, and I'm sure that it sounds same or similar to the name for Vienna in some other language. You probably wouldn't dream of calling Vienna Wien in a text in your language, would you? Zocky 03:01, 30 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Well, on the Gdansk page it is clearly mentioned that Danzig is the German name. I see your point about Vienna. However, I would like to make things clear as far as Chisinau is concerned:

Kishnev is the Russian name. We have been under Russian occupation for almost 200 years, with interruptions. We did not have much say about how to call ourselves or our country. The Russians called our capital Kishnev, and the term obviously stuck abroad, for the simple reason, that even now, most western people call all people from former Soviet Union simply as "people from Russia". So, the term "Kishinev" is a Russian imposed nickname, which holds its own by inertia, and will die in due time. We can accelerate its death by sticking to the correct terminology ("Chisinau") no matter what the historical baggage is. You would not want others to claim the name of your country is what your former occupiers decided it must be.

That said, I put back "Kishinev" in the category of Russian names. By this we do not negate history, or the fact that until recently "Kishinev" is what the name was thought to be, but simply state that we call our capital "Chisinau", this is our choice, and it has to be respected whatever its name was thought to be before. Oleg Alexandrov 19:52, 30 Dec 2004 (UTC)

One more thing. The Kishinev page redirects to Chisinau, also, the name "Kishinev" clearly shows in the paratheses in the list of Russian names, so again, I want to make it clear, I am not playing the game "Let's pretend Kishinev never existed", I just put it in the place it rightfully deserves to be. No foreigners will have any trouble whatsoever getting to this page, nor will they be confused by the fact that we, Moldovians, consider "Kishinev" the Russian name. So, by putting "Kishinev" in the parantheses, no harm is done, and no confusion is made. This is the right way to have things, and "backward compatibility" with the Russian name is preserved. Oleg Alexandrov 20:02, 30 Dec 2004 (UTC)

If you study the Gdansk and Oder talk pages in detail, you will find many examples and explanations of why you're reasoning is flawed. What Moldovians call their capital has no direct influence on what its English name is. Since this Wikipedia is in English, the name used by English speakers and writers should be used.

Names of places travel through languages and change or don't change on the way. Whether Kishinev is an "Russian imposed nickname" or just the Russian name for the city, the English writers historically gained most of the information about Moldova through Russian sources and adopted the name they used, or rather the spelling they used. Which brings me to another important point: in many cases, writers in English (or any language) prefer to stick to the spelling that's more natural to them. The natural English pronounciation of Kishinev sounds more like the original name than the natural English pronounciation of Chişinau, and let's not even get into "your weird letters" as lazy writers all over the world call those characters that require more than one keystroke on their keyboard.

So, for whatever historical reasons, a sizable proportion of English writers continue to use the spelling Kishinev, and obviously even some Moldavians think that Kishinev is the correct spelling in English. And since Wikipedia is not a usage guide, i.e. it does not prescribe how names should be used but rather describes how they are used, this article should simply aknowledge that Kishinev is an alternative English name. By all means, mark it as dated, describe why Moldovians don't like it, explain the history involved, but don't deny the facts. Zocky 05:43, 2 Jan 2005 (UTC)

BTW, Britannica says something like this: Bogdan | Talk 10:25, 2 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Chişinău, formerly Kishinyov, also spelled Kishinev, or Kišin'ov, city and capital of Moldova (...)

First, the Britannica thing implies Chisinau is the correct present name.

Second, I did look at the Gdansk talk page. Yes, there are many arguments. But the outcome was that Gdansk is considered the name of the city, and Danzik the German version.

Third, I have a National Geographic world map, issued very recently, and the name there figures as Chisinau.

Fourth, on the web page of Moldova at the CIA world factbook, the name of the capital is Chisinau, see Moldova (http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/md.html).

All these point to one thing. Chisinau is the name of the city. Kishinev is still lingering around, but this is not the name used nowadays. This is maybe what you are used to, and feel free to use it, other people are using it too, but this does not change the actual present officially accepted name of the city.

I hope you will not also say that the name of my country is Moldavia instead of Moldova, just because this is how it used to be known during Russian times.

Looking forward to your views on these things. Oleg Alexandrov 20:13, 2 Jan 2005 (UTC)