Ukraine, late 19th century. They established the rules of modern Ukrainian. The country depended on the Russian Empire, but thanks to liberal imperial socioeconomic policies and, after centuries of war and conflict, the country experienced a cultural and economic bloom through a peaceful period. The first university was founded in the capital and the first opera house was inaugurated. The telegraph, the tram and many infrastructures came for the first time, and in that context they regulated the language. One of these rules said that the name of the capital was that of the countries of the region, and that its latinized form, that is, that Kyiv was the exonym to be used by the Western countries. But the Ukrainian effort had no results and the name of Kiev, which comes from the Russian toponym, continued to be used mainly abroad. On the one hand, Ukraine never had a State of its own, and until then it was part of the dominant States of Russian or Polish. On the other hand, in addition to open socio-economic policies, the imperial government instituted a strict rusification of the Ukrainians, Poles and Jews living in the country.
On 20 November 1917, the Republic of Ukraine was proclaimed, but independence lasted only a short time for Ukrainians. In 1920 the Soviets took the country and in the next six decades the process of rusification intensified with the use of the exonym Kiev.
Also in Euskera we tend to venerate the main toponyms of the area (Bordeaux, Madrid, Barcelona...), but in that they dominate the Italians: The French capital is called Parig, the city of Frankfurt Francoforte…
With the restoration of independence in 1991, the Government undertook efforts to revolutionize the process of rusification. In 1995, laws were established to bring the toponyms into the Latin alphabet, and it was confirmed that Kyiv was the official exonimo of the capital. But the campaign didn't succeed until the political conflicts pushed him. Following the Crimea crisis in 2014 and the Donbass War, the use of Kyiv in English spread widely. And recently, as a result of the Russian invasion, it's spreading to more languages.
The United Nations recommends the use of the Kyiv form in English and Spanish, even though the Royal Spanish Academy supports Kiev. But so far the UN itself has proposed using Kiev in French.
Pulling the exonyms
For exonyms, there is no clear standard or criterion, and they are often contrasted. Do we have to keep the habit or change the names with respect to the origin? Should writing or pronunciation be prioritized? Do you have to use the same way in all the languages that use the Latin alphabet or each one of them should bring it to it?
Paris spells the same in French, English or Basque, but pronounces differently. On the other hand, China, China in Spanish and Cina in Italian speak the same way, although they are not written in the same way. In addition, they are quite far from the original pronunciation in Chinese; Zhongguo or Zhonghua would be the closest one phonetically.
And when we're in China, how do we have to tell the capital? Beijing or Beijing? Peking was the quintessential latinized name for a long time, and that's where Beijing comes from. Beijing is closer to the original pronunciation and, for example, is used in English. In German, Russian or Spanish, however, the Beijing form is maintained. Italians call it Pechino.
Also in Euskera we tend to venerate the main toponyms of the area (Bordeaux, Madrid, Barcelona...), but in that they dominate the Italians: The French capital is called Parig, the city of Frankfurt Francoforte…
So if there is no clear and unified criterion, will Kyiv or Kiev maintain it? Will Germany remain dozens of exonyms (Germany, Allemagne, Saksa, Niemcy, Tyskland…) or will the original Deustchland be extended? Do we ever call Hungary Magyarorszag? Or more easily to Finland Suomi?
Urruña, 1750eko martxoaren 1a. Herriko hainbat emakumek kaleak hartu zituzten Frantziako Gobernuak ezarritako tabakoaren gaineko zergaren aurka protesta egiteko. Gobernuak matxinada itzaltzeko armada bidaltzea erabaki zuen, zehazki, Arloneko destakamentu bat. Militarrek... [+]
In the Maszycka cave in Poland, remains of 18,000 years ago were found at the end of the 19th century. But recently, human bones have been studied using new technologies and found clear signs of cannibalism.
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Poloniar ikerlari talde batek Sevillako Italica aztarnategiko Txorien Etxea aztertu du, eta eraikinaren zoruko mosaikoak erromatar garaiko hegazti-bilduma xeheena dela ondorioztatu du.
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Judea, 2nd century AD. In the turbulent atmosphere of the Roman province, a trial was held against Gaddaliah and Saul, accused of fraud and tax evasion. The trial was reported on a 133-line paper in Greek (pictured). Thinking that it was a Nabataean document, the papyrus was... [+]
Vietnam, February 7, 1965. The U.S. Air Force first used napalma against the civilian population. It was not the first time that gelatinous gasoline was used. It began to be launched with bombs during World War II and, in Vietnam itself, it was used during the Indochina War in... [+]
Archaeologists have discovered more than 600 engraved stones at the Vasagård site in Denmark. According to the results of the data, dating back to 4,900 years ago, it is also known that a violent eruption of a volcano occurred in Alaska at that time. The effects of this... [+]
Japan, 8th century. In the middle of the Nara Era they began to use the term furoshiki, but until the Edo Era (XVII-XIX. the 20th century) did not spread. Furoshiki is the art of collecting objects in ovens, but its etymology makes its origin clear: furo means bath and shiki... [+]
In an Egyptian mummy of 3,300 years ago, traces of Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that caused the Justinian plague in the 6th century and the Black Plague in the 14th century, have just been found.
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Greenland, the end of the 10th century. The first Scandinavian explorers and settlers arrived on the island. But by the 15th century these settlements had been abandoned and the original Inuit remained. But in 1721, the missionary Hans Egede organized an expedition and the... [+]
In 2017, Indonesia and the Netherlands signed an agreement to return the heritage stolen by the European country because of colonialism for three centuries. The Indonesian responsible for the return process, Gusti Agung Wesaka Puja, explained that this agreement "was important in... [+]
Greece 1975. The country began the year as a republic, three weeks earlier, in the referendum on 8 December 1974, after the citizens decided on the end of the monarchy.
A decade earlier, in 1964, when King Paul I died, his son Constantine took the throne at the age of 23.
But... [+]
Copenhagen, 18 December 1974 At 12 noon a ferry arrived at the port, from where a group of about 100 Santa Claus landed. They brought a gigantic geese with them. The idea was to make a kind of “Trojan Goose” and, upon reaching the city, to pull the white beard costumes... [+]
Tennessee (United States), 1820. The slave Nathan Green is born, known as Nearest Uncle or Nearest Uncle. We do not know exactly when he was born and, in general, we have very little data about him until 1863, when he achieved emancipation. We know that in the late 1850s Dan... [+]
New York, 1960. At a UN meeting, Nigeria’s Foreign Minister and UN ambassador Jaja Wachucu slept. Nigeria had just achieved independence on 1 October. Therefore, Wachuku became the first UN representative in Nigeria and had just taken office.
In contradiction to the... [+]