You say Torino I say Turin

[kach22i]

Torino, Turin.

Which is it, and why?

[Rodeo]

Milan, Milano

Rome, Roma

Venice, Veniza

Turin is just the American pronuncation

Remember Peking?

I have no idea why we do that ...

[Jared at Pelican Parts]

It's Torino

Turin is the bastardized American pronunciation

[kach22i]

from CBS news
You Say Turin? Oh, I Say Torino

When the Italian city of Turin made its Olympic bid, city leaders requested that their city be referred to as "Torino," which is the name Italians use. That's akin to requesting that people speak of "Roma," not Rome, or "Firenze," not Florence. It was initially unclear if English speakers would go along with the request. After all, no one called Athens "Athenai" in 2004. And when's the last time you heard reference to the Shroud of Torino?

But Torinians (hey, we are having fun with names) figured Torino was a more phonetically pleasing name, one with an Italian identity that was more likely to attract visitors. And they convinced the International Olympic Committee, who have made the 2006 Games the first whose official name is not in English. (The official languages of the IOC are English and French.) NBC decided to play ball as well: The network has decided to use Torino in its coverage of the Games. "It rolls off your tongue, sounds so Italian, so romantic," NBC's Dick Ebersol told the Wall Street Journal. "Turin just doesn't do it for me."

He may have a point. The Olympics are about sports, but they're also about money – and marketing. "'Turin'…what's that? A soup bowl?," asks Mike Downey. "Torino does sound much better than Turin," writes Rachel Wilner. And it's not unheard of for Americans to refer to a city the way native speakers do – Bob Wolfley notes Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires and São Paulo.

But that didn't stop Downey from generating a top ten list of mock new rules for NBC's on-air personalities. (#2: "…[N]ext time you NBC Sports boys get to St. Louis for a ballgame, say "St. Louie" instead. It's cuter." #5: "By the way, don't say "bobsled" any more. "Toboggan" is a lot funnier.")

The CBS Network, along with most television outlets, like ESPN, is following NBC's lead and using Torino. But most print outlets, including the Associated Press, are going with Turin. What this tells you about the culture clash between the two media, I can't tell you. But I can tell you it has created headaches for the folks at CBSNews.com. They've decided to use Torino in all of the material they work up, but keep Turin in the AP material they post on the site, since it would be impossible to change every reference because some AP material goes directly onto the site unedited. Wrote CBSNews.com editorial director Dick Meyer in an email: "We have profound faith in the wisdom of CBSNews.com readers to be able to live with this linguistic ambiguity."

[oldE]

After all, Ford didn't call that POS they built in the early 70s a 'Turin". Well, maybe the NASCAR boys did.
Les

[targa911S]

where are Isabo and Milu when you really need them.