When did Niger stop being pronounced "Ny-jer" and start being called "Nuh-jeer"?

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Did I miss the memo?

― Hello Sunshine (Hello Sunshine), Tuesday, 2 August 2005 04:09 (twenty years ago)

it didn't

http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=niger&x=0&y=0

― shine headlights on me (electricsound), Tuesday, 2 August 2005 04:12 (twenty years ago)

All that tells me is that we've also got "Neh-jeer" to worry about.

Thing is, for years and years everyone I know has called it "Ny-jeer" (like the beginning of Nigeria), and I'm pretty sure the BBC and my GCSE geography teacher did the same. But since the latest crisis kicked off, everyone's falling over themselves to call it Nuh-jeer (or even Neh-jeer).

And I have no idea why.

― Hello Sunshine (Hello Sunshine), Tuesday, 2 August 2005 05:53 (twenty years ago)

It's Knee-zher on Radio 4.

― suzy (suzy), Tuesday, 2 August 2005 06:59 (twenty years ago)

I always thought Nyger, but R4 generally think about this kind of thing WAAAAAY to much, and I'm sure there's a perfectly reasonable explanation.

― Come Back Johnny B (Johnney B), Tuesday, 2 August 2005 07:02 (twenty years ago)

Knee jair on radio 2

― C J (C J), Tuesday, 2 August 2005 07:08 (twenty years ago)

i remember 4d4m cr1ckm4y getting thrown out of my 3rd yr junior school class for pronouncing it 'nigger'.

― g-kit (g-kit), Tuesday, 2 August 2005 07:15 (twenty years ago)

About the same time that Uranus started to be called Yoo-run-us I expect.

― Koorbssir (Koorbssir), Tuesday, 2 August 2005 07:46 (twenty years ago)

I always thought it was Knee-zhair...

― The Lex (The Lex), Tuesday, 2 August 2005 07:47 (twenty years ago)

the bbc has a pronunciation unit which should give guidance/standards for pronunciation across the bbc, so it should be standard across the bbc.

i am sure that i noticed a shift in bbc pronunciation around the time of beslan from "CHECHnya" to "chechNYA", to follow the russian pronunciation. seems like someone had updated that bit of the database or something. weird to see it roll out thru the organisation.

― ambrose (ambrose), Tuesday, 2 August 2005 08:00 (twenty years ago)

it's a bit like Cote D'Ivoire not being the Ivory Coast anymore...

― CarsmileSteve (CarsmileSteve), Tuesday, 2 August 2005 08:17 (twenty years ago)

The pronunciation is worryingly close to "Kneejerk" - is somebody trying to tell us something?!?!?!

― Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 2 August 2005 08:39 (twenty years ago)

Knee-zher good knee-zher good...

― Sociah T Azzahole (blueski), Tuesday, 2 August 2005 08:53 (twenty years ago)

Are Nigels expected to follow suit?

― NickB (NickB), Tuesday, 2 August 2005 09:00 (twenty years ago)

I love it when there's a sweeping change across the British media to a new pronounciation. There's this "What? We never said it any other way, you must have been imagining it" overtone to it all.

― Alba (Alba), Tuesday, 2 August 2005 09:08 (twenty years ago)

knee-zhair makes sense, wot with the frenchness.

you know it should be keen-ya, right?

― N_RQ, Tuesday, 2 August 2005 09:25 (twenty years ago)

we've always been at war with oceana.

― g-kit (g-kit), Tuesday, 2 August 2005 09:26 (twenty years ago)

I'm waiting for the pronunciation of South Africa to be officially changed to "Sarth Efriker"

― Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 2 August 2005 09:28 (twenty years ago)

'sith ifrika', surely?

― N_RQ, Tuesday, 2 August 2005 09:29 (twenty years ago)

Nee-zhay would make sense if it was French.

― Markelby (Mark C), Tuesday, 2 August 2005 09:29 (twenty years ago)

I've noticed football commentators are trying out "proper" pronunciations these days to So you get idiocies like Milan being pronounced MEE-Lan, despite the fact that they are quite deliberately called "Milan" and not Milano - IT'S AN ENGLISH NAME! The funniest has to be "Racing Club" being pronounced "Rahhhhh-SEEEEEENG Clooooooooooob"!

― Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 2 August 2005 09:36 (twenty years ago)

Dada, it's pronounced Mee-lan in Italy.

― Markelby (Mark C), Tuesday, 2 August 2005 09:44 (twenty years ago)

Yes, but as it's an English word, why shouldn't it be pronounced "Mi-lan" in Britain?

― Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 2 August 2005 09:45 (twenty years ago)

it's a silly precedent though. shd they said 'italia versus england' in international games?

― N_RQ, Tuesday, 2 August 2005 09:46 (twenty years ago)

And why are Bayern Munich not Bayern Munchen? That's just linguistically confusing!

― Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 2 August 2005 09:49 (twenty years ago)

mind you, i once saw a map which had lyons down as 'lions'.

― N_RQ, Tuesday, 2 August 2005 09:51 (twenty years ago)

"Three Lyons On A Shirt"

― Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 2 August 2005 09:52 (twenty years ago)

That bugs me too! They got halfway through translating it, then went off to the bierfest.

x-post

― NickB (NickB), Tuesday, 2 August 2005 09:52 (twenty years ago)

I have to say I do miss Ron Atkinson's attempts at some European names, both of players and teams. "They all sound the same to me," etc etc...

― Hello Sunshine (Hello Sunshine), Tuesday, 2 August 2005 10:25 (twenty years ago)

I like how Fergie still insists on saying Joo-ventus

― Onimo (GerryNemo), Tuesday, 2 August 2005 10:27 (twenty years ago)

That's preferable to saying "Yoo-veh"

― Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 2 August 2005 10:29 (twenty years ago)

I always thought Big Ron was saying Jew-ventus, as if there was some grand zionist plot afoot.

― Hello Sunshine (Hello Sunshine), Tuesday, 2 August 2005 10:31 (twenty years ago)

"Yahweh"

― Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 2 August 2005 10:31 (twenty years ago)

isn't that ponce for 'god'?

― N_RQ, Tuesday, 2 August 2005 10:32 (twenty years ago)

In Italy they always drop the AC in AC Milan, so I reckon it would be acceptable for the British meeja to do the same. Calling them AC Mee-lan does, I agree, seem unnecessary.

Bob Wilson always talks about Oo-vay. He is a tool.

― Markelby (Mark C), Tuesday, 2 August 2005 10:35 (twenty years ago)

So let's agree to call them Milan and not Mee-lan or AC Milan or AC Mee-lan

― Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 2 August 2005 10:36 (twenty years ago)

Thing is, everyone in Italy just calls Milan's blue and black team Internazionale, but because the Brit media is obsessed with calling them Inter Milan they have to add the AC to the red and black side to avoid confusion.

Just call 'em Inter and Milan, as James Richardson used to do, and we can all go home happy.

― Hello Sunshine (Hello Sunshine), Tuesday, 2 August 2005 10:40 (twenty years ago)

Its proper English pronunciation is "nee-ZHAIR", although "NIGH-jer" is also acceptable. Its adjective form is Nigerien ("nee-ZHAIR-ee-an"), which should not be confused with Nigerian ("nigh-JEER-ee-an") for Nigeria.

Wiki knows all

― Jarlr'mai (jarlrmai), Tuesday, 2 August 2005 10:46 (twenty years ago)

Bayern's 'colloquial' name is FC Bayern, as locally and nationally, that distingusihes them from TSV 1860 Munchen. However, if we said over here 'Bayern', some would not have known where they're from, so we add Munich to indicate where from. As the addition of Munich is to provide useful info, to say 'Munchen' will be less helpful, as it requires you know the lcoal names of European cities, which isn't an assumption that European Football Commentators should assume.

― Dave B (daveb), Tuesday, 2 August 2005 12:15 (twenty years ago)

It just seems a bit arse-over-tit to me

― Danperryismus (Dada), Tuesday, 2 August 2005 12:19 (twenty years ago)

Why don't we just call them FC Bavaria then?

― NickB (NickB), Tuesday, 2 August 2005 12:20 (twenty years ago)

Because it's fallen between the two stools of 'lets be sophisticated continental types' (hence Bayern, not Bavaria) and 'lets remember that the audience is a bit insular and we can't too far ahead of them (hence Munich, not Munchen).

― Dave B (daveb), Tuesday, 2 August 2005 12:32 (twenty years ago)

When was the last time someone said that Real Madrid play at the Berna-bay-uh? Or why does the Champions League insist on calling London Arsenal and London Chelsea?* It's cos the relationship between the truth (It's the Guiseppe Meazza Stadium!) mixes with the local truth (it's called the San Siro) mixes with what the audience knows (It's AC Milan's ground!).

* - Will Everton be called 'Liverpool Everton'?

― Dave B (daveb), Tuesday, 2 August 2005 12:37 (twenty years ago)

Glasgow Celtic and Glasgow Rangers = WRONG ON BOTH COUNTS

― Danperryismus (Dada), Tuesday, 2 August 2005 12:39 (twenty years ago)

We'd never call them Olympic Lyon I guess.

Why are Club Brugge Club Brugge and not just Brugge?

― Sociah T Azzahole (blueski), Tuesday, 2 August 2005 12:43 (twenty years ago)

(It's actually pronounced Glasgow O'Range)

― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Tuesday, 2 August 2005 12:45 (twenty years ago)

I call them "Bruges" personally

― Danperryismus (Dada), Tuesday, 2 August 2005 12:45 (twenty years ago)

But then surely "Nigerien" should take the same Frenchy pronunciation -- Nigerienne!

― nabiscothingy, Tuesday, 2 August 2005 12:45 (twenty years ago)

Hard to believe it's not come up already.

― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Tuesday, 2 August 2005 12:48 (twenty years ago)

http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/dmstein/Innis.jpg

― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Tuesday, 2 August 2005 15:54 (twenty years ago)

Thing is, everyone in Italy just calls Milan's blue and black team Internazionale

It's the same with Sporting Lisbon, isn't it? They're just called Sporting in Portugal, but over here we go all London Times/Suede on them, which is bit daft seeing as there's no team called Sporting over here.

― Alba (Alba), Tuesday, 2 August 2005 16:18 (twenty years ago)

swedd or swayed?

― jed_ (jed), Tuesday, 2 August 2005 18:29 (twenty years ago)

pseud, obv ;)

― CarsmileSteve (CarsmileSteve), Tuesday, 2 August 2005 18:33 (twenty years ago)

actually, sorry, SWIYDE!

― CarsmileSteve (CarsmileSteve), Tuesday, 2 August 2005 18:33 (twenty years ago)

While we're at it, let's bring back Leghorn (in Italy) and Candy (in Crete)!

― Aimless (Aimless), Tuesday, 2 August 2005 23:38 (twenty years ago)

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