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- "Berlino ne estas en Togoland…
11 Comments
1275
It's a great country to go to, is Togo, too. Be glad there's no place named "Vizitistan."
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Togo/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x1023e1c113185419:0xfaae5b301ad19360?sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwixu5T2s8vJAhUxpoMKHRojB-IQ8gEIGzAA Incidentally, I see there's a Tamale next door, in Ghana. Now I'm so hungry.
2640
Weird question, but it's bugging me anyway: Why is it Togolando? Togo works just fine as an Esperanto word, too. I don't think it's been called Togoland since the '50s. (For that matter, why is the capital of China still called Pekino when it's Beijing, or some other version of that, in other languages? Is Esperanto that slow in changing with the times?)
1275
In Esperanto the word togo = toga, that article of clothing preferred by the likes of Julius Caesar, and Bluto in Animal House. Hence togolando is a workaround. if it was being "toga country" we'd probably say toga lando. (Romio estis vere toga lando)
I believe that there is another reason for not using "Beijing," but the Chinese Esperantists don't seem to object, so I shan't either.