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[scriver]

Technically Tamil is also very recent. You're talking about old-Tamil and older-Tamil and totally-oldest-Tamil

[delphonso]

While looking this up, I found an article that said Tamil was found written dating to 3000BCE, but is considered to have started in 2500BCE. Impressive to invent writing before speaking for a language.

The arguments for oldest language get fuzzy with stuff like generativity being a necessity for language, and writing systems being the usual tool for determining age, but some are phonetic-ambivalent (say, hieroglyphs) and phonetic writing systems require the language to be around for a while and then some sort centralization to occur (major trade location, cultural center, or militarization). And this doesn't mention languages that may not have had any written form.

[scriver]

Oh Lord. What a horrible idea.

We already have the name in Chinese characters, then you have transliterations, which may be by multiple systems ("Shanghai, See also: shanghai, Shanghái, shānghŕi, Shanghaď, Shŕnghǎi and Shang-hai"), so the same place name might be spelled differently in Latin characters depending who you talk to. Now you want direct translations. So pretty much everyone who speaks a different language will start to refer to foreign place-names by their local translation, which may or may not differ by person as well.

EDIT: for example, Shanghai means "Upon the Sea", so I can call it Upon the Sea, someone else can call it "At the sea" others can call it "Near the sea", and you can call it one of those, but in Swedish. It would clear up communication problems no end.

I mean. It's not like you englishers refer to our places by their real names, and I don't think people would not understand that you meant the same place if you called Vidhavet för Närahavet.

[delphonso]

On the original point, scriver, I actually do translate people's names in my head to better remember them. There are very few names I can remember on first hearing without translation or other mneumatic device.

I guess it's a matter of familiarity. My ear still has trouble parsing the sounds of the s family in chinese (s, sh, zh, x, z, and sometimes ch/q sound relatively similar depending on accents) and because of that I easily forget people's names that have those sounds in them. Some others are easier Xiaolu, Hailong, Jingjing become easier over time when you break them into their parts (two characters each of a consonant, vowel, optional consonant sound). That said, it's apparently such an issue that the habit of choosing an English name to use in business is so ingrained that there are new English names invented in China. 

Translating names wouldn't make things much easier some of the time. Yuan, 沅, for example, is only known in context of a name (a surname and the name of a river, but meaningless otherwise). Another yuan, 嫄, is a given name that is only given because it was historically the name of an empress. The original meaning, presumably lost in history.

[TamerVirus]

The next Pope should take one of those old ancient names that hasn't been used in centuries.
The world could use a Pope Hilarius II

[MaxTheFox]

I'm glad to see more people playing older games nowadays... at least among my group of friends. KT picked up Victoria 2, for example. I've been playing a bunch of older roguelikes.

[IncompetentFortressMaker]

The next Pope should take one of those old ancient names that hasn't been used in centuries.
The world could use a Pope Hilarius II

I thought popes were a serious bunch. I guess that one would be a little less serious.

[Bumber]

The next Pope should take one of those old ancient names that hasn't been used in centuries.
The world could use a Pope Hilarius II

I thought popes were a serious bunch. I guess that one would be a little less serious.

Reminds me of Sith Lord naming.

[TamerVirus]

Also open opportunity here for A Pope Sixtus VI, the sixth Sixtus.
Come on! They had almost 500 years to have a Sixtus VI, but noooooo

[dragdeler]

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[MaxTheFox]

Weird how a lot of my political beliefs disagree with a lot of the modern left's despite myself being a leftie... I am pro-military (bomb Iran, bomb bomb bomb Iran), pro-punitive justice (all those murderers and rapists don't deserve redemption), and generally anti-SJW (despite usually being supportive of minority rights).

[dragdeler]

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[MaxTheFox]

Seriously though defuck you want to bomb iran for, where did you pick that up sweet child?

Iran is dangerous to the world. They send out terrorists and raid American ships. They also have a totalitarian government that must be toppled.

And yes, I am extreme left by Russian standards...

[dragdeler]

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[MaxTheFox]

Better Israel have nukes than almost any other Middle Eastern country.

Iran being defensive doesn't change the fact that they are openly antagonistic and fund Islamic terrorists the world over.