March 14, 2006
Spelling Tests Posted by Claire Lui at 07:00 AM EST Reading John Steele Gordon’s blog post reminded me of Woody Allen’s joke that the Russian Revolution simmered for years and finally erupted when the serfs realized that the czar and the tsar were the same person. I suppose I am on John's side, if only because too many variant spellings mess with my ability to get through crossword puzzles. But I am curious about his mention of the Persian Gulf. I assume that even Mr. Gordon no longer calls Iran Persia. And Beijing seems to have become the default spelling for the Chinese capital, while Peking duck remains the preferred spelling, even in China, for that lovely dish. When should the English language change a geographic name? When the borders are redrawn? When a new regime seems permanent? I don’t know the answer, but perhaps Mr. Gordon has some thoughts.
| 
