You know how some people will never call Derry Londonderry. They have their reasons.
Editors should know it. Wikinews editors should know it too. They should also know that some people will never accept another name for Gdańsk than Gdańsk. Particularly when they are Polish. And why would they? After all that is its name and – as it doesn’t really have an English equivalent – this city shouldn’t really be known as anything else.
I found this interview with the Wikimania 2010 Poland bid promoter on Wikinews and – to my surprise – they never bothered to standardise the name, referring to it simultaneously as Gdańsk and Danzig.
Now, many Poles might still be sensitive to the German version of Gdańsk, Danzig. And the reasons are obvious – the changing history of the city, the war, etc. One reason to edit the interview and unify the naming convention.
The other reason would be much simpler – many non-Polish readers will not know the difference betweeen Danzig and Gdańsk and will be left confused.
There’s already a lot of confusion about how to refer to Kraków in English (is it Cracow? Kracow? Kraków?), but that’s more a matter of how to unnecessarily anglicise a name. Danzing in English will only add to this confusion. Particularly, if the only Danzig you’ve heard of is the rock band.
The same mistake wasn’t repeated in the Polish version of the interview.
Come on, Wikinews, don’t let citizen journalism down!
Image © Wikinews
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