On 11/13/05, charles matthews charles.r.matthews@ntlworld.com wrote:
Tony Sidaway wrote
Consensus cannot be gauged only by voting; the
external sources comprehensively refute the votes for the French name.
That's simplistic here. I wouldn't be surprised to hear 'Ivory Coast' on BBC radio, because it is much easier to grok. But I don't imagine the BBC thinks that's the real name of the country. Diplomats are supposed to be able to hack French pronunciation. Let's face it, most anglophones can't. However WP is a written medium.
What is the name of that country in the middle of Europe, famous for its sausages and beer? Deutschland or Germany? How about the big one on the bottom left, Sandwiched between France and North Africa? Spain or EspaƱa? Is it The Netherland or Nederland, Italy or Italia, Japan or Nihon, Sweden or Sverige?
Of course Ivory Coast is the real name of the country, just as Royaume Uni is the real French name of the UK, and it would be a very fatheaded French speaker indeed who insisted on parking the article on the UK under United Kingdom where hardly anybody would look for it.