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Fox
Joined: 04 Mar 2009
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 Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2010 8:06 pm Post subject: Well, Korea and Iran have One Thing in Common |
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They're both testy about what adjacent bodies of water are called.
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Airlines must use the term 'Persian Gulf' rather than 'Arabian Gulf' to describe the body of water separating Iran from the Arabian Peninsula, or face a ban from Iranian airspace, according to Iran's transport minister.
"The airlines of the southern Persian Gulf countries flying to Iran are warned to use the term Persian Gulf on their electronic display boards," Hamid Behbahani, told Iranian press. "Otherwise they will be banned from Iranian airspace for a month the first time and upon repetition their aircraft will be grounded in Iran and flight permits to Iran will be revoked."
A Greek flight attendant has been the first to feel Iran's wrath over the naming confusion. Iran's Press TV reports:
The steward working for Kish Air had reportedly threatened to arrest passengers who complained against the use of the forged term 'Arabian Gulf' on the plane's in-flight monitors instead of the internationally-recognized term 'Persian Gulf.'
The state-funded television channel reports that the steward had his residency permit canceled due to his "inappropriate and irresponsible behavior."
The correct naming of the key waterway has long been a divisive issue between Iran and its Arabic neighbors.
AP reports that just last month the Saudi-based Islamic Solidarity Sports Federation said it canceled the Islamic Solidarity Games due to the Iranian host's use of the 'Persian Gulf' term.
In 2004, Iran banned American National Geographic for using Arabian Gulf instead of the Persian Gulf, eventually leading National Geographic to revise its practice. |
And it looks like Iran is far more aggressive about it as well. What is it with these nations and naming conventions? Different nations have different names for things. Why is that such a big issue? I don't freak out when someone calls America 미국. Germans don't freak out when we call Deutschland Germany. Why is it so hard to show equal forebearance when it comes to bodies of water?
I also find it hilarious that the "Islamic Solidarity Games" were cancelled over disputes regarding this body of water's name. I guess that shows how far Islamic solidarity goes. |
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Ya-ta Boy
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Established in 1994
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| Posted: Tue Feb 23, 2010 4:11 am Post subject: |
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I think it's a matter of (emotional) security.
Suppose Mexico had won the Mexican-American War and turned into a major world power. I have no doubt that we, as a secondary (or less) power, would be insisting that the Gulf of Mexico be called the Gulf of Alabama or some such.
A few years ago here, there was a major kerfluffle over Korea and Corea. The contention was that Korea was really Corea, but that Imperial Japan, not speaking English but anyway sensitive to the spelling of one of their colonies, changed spelling of the name of this area we are living in. For about 6 minutes there was an international race to claim the name of the Republic of Aardvark so as to be #1 at the UN. I take personal responsibility for that since I was working for a gov't unit and kept changing their policy papers to say 'Japan/Korea' to keep with alphbetical order. It was not accepted well at the time and (I am convinced) eventually turned into a major Dave's issue. |
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