WHAT'S IN A NAME?

Like many people, I have looked at Vietnamese place names, and wondered what those are in a civilized language.
Fortunately there are equivalents.

So here's a list of three regionomens, and their correct versions.


Saigon
嘉定 ('gaa deng'): Auspicious, settled or fixed. Name of Saigon under the Nguyễn, and under the French till 1891. Gia Định.
柴棍 ('chaai gwan'): Firewood cudgel. Sino-Viet name of Saigon. Thầy gòn.
堤岸 ('tai ngon'): Dike, beach or coast. Embankment. The Cantonese name of Cholon. Tai-Ngon.
西貢 ('sai gong'): Occident, tribute. Name 'Saigon' in Chinese usage.


Hue
林邑 ('lam yap'): Jungle or forest district. The name a millennium ago. Lâm Ấp.
化 ('faa'): Sino-Vietnamese: hoá. Transform. Of which Huế is a bastardization.
順化 ('suen faa'): Submit and transform. Thuận Hoá, a territorial name.


Hanoi
龍邊 ('lung pin'): Dragon side, boundary, or edge. Hanoi under the Chinese. Long Biên.
宋平 ('sung peng'): Sung (as in the dynasty) peace. Tống Bình.
龍肚 ('lung tou'): Dragon stomach. Long Đỗ.
大羅 ('daai lo'): Big net (gauze), as of the year 866. Đại La.
羅城 ('lo seng'): Gauze or net citadel; secondary wall around a city. La Thành.
昇龍 ('sing lung'): Ascending dragon. Thăng Long.
東都 ('tung tou'): Eastern metropolis. Hồ dynasty name. Đông Đô.
東關 ('tung gwaan'): Eastern pass, frontier citadel, or gate. Minh dynasty name. Đông Quan.
東京 ('tung king'): Eastern capital. Lê dynasty name. Đông Kinh.
北城 ('baak seng'): Northern citadel. Tây Sơn (西山) period name. Bắc Thành.
河內 ('ho noi'): Within the rivers. Name since 1831. Hà Nội.


Odd
花旗 ('faa kei'): Flower flag. The United States. Hoa Kỳ.
荷蘭 ('ho laan'): Lotus Orchid. The Kingdom of the Netherlands. Hà Lan.


Technically, all of these terms are 詞漢越 ('chi hon yuet'; Từ Hán Việt);
Expressions Sinitic across the boundary. Sino-Vietnamese.


Unlike West Virginians, most Vietnamese still have their teeth, and lack visible tails.





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