接我在聖路易，路易

[muckefuck]

As some of you have doubtless already noted, Multilingual Monday is back! This week's topic is one I've wrestled with myself: Chinese versions of American place names.

Seems there's always more to learn. I've known for years that the Chinese call my hometown 聖路易 Shèng Lùyì, which is interesting in that it's neither a straight transcription nor a complete translation but a little of both. 聖 shèng is an old term for a sage (至聖先師 Zhìshèng Xiānshī or "Most Sage Master" is an official title of Confucius) that by happy coincidence resembles some derivatives of Latin sanctus such as saint, san, and são. Thus, it's used in the names of Christian saints like 聖彼得 Shèng Bǐdé "St Peter". 路易 Lùyì (which incidentally can be read as a phrase, "the road is easy") is a transcription of Louis, probably based on the French pronunciation.

[Another interesting example of a "half-translation" is 聖彼得堡 Shèng Bǐdébǎo, where 堡 bǎo means "small fort" but also happens to sound something like various descendents of Proto-Germanic *burg- and so conventionally replaces them in names (e.g. 匹茲堡 Pǐzībǎo "Pittsburgh"). So it's a full transcription (Bǐdé) sandwiched between two translated elements.]

What I didn't realise until aadroma's post, however, is that 聖路易 is not the only form in use. Some older names contain 聖藟 Shèng Lěi. The last character is so obscure that Lin Yu-tang doesn't even list it. I did find it in my Far East Chinese-English dictionary, however, where it is translated as "a variety of climbing plant", although it can also be a variant form of 蕾 as in 蓓蕾 bèilěi "flower bud". On the basis of this, I would expect it to be read lèuih (i.e. [lɵy21]) in Cantonese and luǐ in pre-modern Beijing Mandarin (and more conservative Mandarin dialects). This suggests that a dialect pronunciation was the basis for its adoption.

City names often have abbreviated forms, particularly (exclusively?) when there is a Chinese community dwelling in them (e.g. 芝城 Zhīchéng for 芝加哥 Zhījiāgē "Chicago", and St. Louis, as I've belatedly discovered, is no exception there either. Poking around, I uncovered 聖市 Shèngshì "Holy Market". Actually, althoug the literal ancient meaning of 市 shì is "market", here it is only an abbreviation of 城市 chéngshì "city". I assume this is a term distinguishing the city proper from either the county or the metro area, but most of the cites I've found are ambiguous.

Comments

[pne.livejournal.com]

堡 bǎo means "small fort" but also happens to sound something like various descendents of Proto-Germanic *burg- and so conventionally replaces them in names (e.g. 匹茲堡 Pǐzībǎo "Pittsburgh").

I suppose it's curious that Hamburg "means", roughly, "Chinese Castle" :) (漢堡)

[muckefuck.livejournal.com]

Or, alternatively, "the fort of manly men"!

I wonder what the Cantos would've named it had they gotten there first. Maybe Hàambóu "Damp and marshy fort" (涵堡)!