hjwii Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 Why are country names on the Olympic uniforms in English? Especially a country like China or Russia?And why would it be in English, and not French (French is the official Olympic language, isn't it?)I also noticed that all the abbreviations of the countries are in English (Austria is not AUS as opposed to OST)...Thanks... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njmeadowlanders Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 English and French are both official languages.And it probably is because more languages use the roman alphabet as its base would be my guess. As to why English and not French then, I'd bet it has to do with the role of the US and Great Britain as the two superpowers way back when (think early 1900's). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin W. Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 Presumably because English is one of the IOC's two official languages and because it's the host country's language too. Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (CHL - 2018 Orr Cup Champions) Chicago Rivermen (UBA/WBL - 2014, 2015, 2017 Intercontinental Cup Champions) King's Own Hexham FC (BIP - 2022 Saint's Cup Champions) Portland Explorers (EFL - Elite Bowl XIX Champions) Real San Diego (UPL) Red Bull Seattle (ULL - 2018, 2019, 2020 Gait Cup Champions) Vancouver Huskies (CL) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tBBP Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 Not to mention English being the de facto global language of commerce and all. *Disclaimer: I am not an authoritative expert on stuff...I just do a lot of reading and research and keep in close connect with a bunch of people who are authoritative experts on stuff. || dribbble || Behance || Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vman Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 Not to mention English being the global language of commerce and all.English as a first or second language is spoken in far more countries than French. It would be ridiculous to use French. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raysfan24 Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 Not to mention English being the de facto global language of commerce and all.So that explains why Japanese and Korean baseball logos are in English. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tBBP Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 Edit: never mind. *Disclaimer: I am not an authoritative expert on stuff...I just do a lot of reading and research and keep in close connect with a bunch of people who are authoritative experts on stuff. || dribbble || Behance || Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJTank Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 I am trying to figure out what is the deal with China and 90s style graidents www.sportsecyclopedia.com For the best in sports history go to the Sports E-Cyclopedia at http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saintsfan Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 Why are country names on the Olympic uniforms in English? Especially a country like China or Russia?And why would it be in English, and not French (French is the official Olympic language, isn't it?)I also noticed that all the abbreviations of the countries are in English (Austria is not AUS as opposed to OST)...Thanks...I think the deal with abbreviations is to do with the UN. I think each country has a three letter abbreviation for general use, and the IOC has just kept to those traditionally. They are a mix of local and English/French. (Spain is ESP I think, Netherlands is NED). 2011/12 WFL Champions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hjwii Posted August 10, 2012 Author Share Posted August 10, 2012 Not to mention English being the de facto global language of commerce and all.So that explains why Japanese and Korean baseball logos are in English.I've always wondered that too. I realize that English is used internationally now for commerce and marketing, but I would hate to think that one day "USA" might show up in Chinese characters.And a quick scan through the Google, it appears that in 2008 uniforms also were in English, despite the Olympics being held in Beijing (I still call it "Peking").Thanks for the responses... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kw11333 Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 Only country to ignore this was Germany in the 1936 Summer games. Player uniforms were produced by each country, but EVERYthing else at those games were in German. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin W. Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 Only country to ignore this was Germany in the 1936 Summer games. Player uniforms were produced by each country, but EVERYthing else at those games were in German.Not really surprising considering who was in charge... Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (CHL - 2018 Orr Cup Champions) Chicago Rivermen (UBA/WBL - 2014, 2015, 2017 Intercontinental Cup Champions) King's Own Hexham FC (BIP - 2022 Saint's Cup Champions) Portland Explorers (EFL - Elite Bowl XIX Champions) Real San Diego (UPL) Red Bull Seattle (ULL - 2018, 2019, 2020 Gait Cup Champions) Vancouver Huskies (CL) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ARTnSocal Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 Not all are spelled in EnglishItaly is spelling their apparel in Italian ........... ITALIABrazil is spelled in Portuguese with the 'S' .... BRASILSpain is spelled in Spanish ........... ESPAÑAIvory Coast is spelled in their native French .... CÔTE D' IVOIRENetherlands/ Holland is spelled in Dutch ......... NEDERLANDand I'm pretty sure that Germany was spelled ..... DEUTSCHLAND (although I'm not 100% sure on that one)and I'm assuming there are others Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJWalker45 Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 It's been spelled Germany this year, but previously it was Deutschland. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slapshot Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 Not all are spelled in EnglishItaly is spelling their apparel in Italian ........... ITALIABrazil is spelled in Portuguese with the 'S' .... BRASILSpain is spelled in Spanish ........... ESPAÑAIvory Coast is spelled in their native French .... CÔTE D' IVOIRENetherlands/ Holland is spelled in Dutch ......... NEDERLANDand I'm pretty sure that Germany was spelled ..... DEUTSCHLAND (although I'm not 100% sure on that one)and I'm assuming there are others Côte D'Ivoire has been the country's official name for almost 30 years, even though the English-speaking world still calls it Ivory Coast. The Olympic Code is reflected as CIV.Germany used to compete as two separate countries: West Germany (GER), and East Germany (DDR). The combined country is GER, but uniforms read Deutschland.I've seen Latvia spelled as both Latvia and Latvija.Surprised that Russia is spelled in English on all the uniforms.Lithuania is spelled Lietuva on its uniforms.Greece is spelled Hellas (from Hellenic Republic, the official name for the country).Other countries will use their official name on warm-up uniforms, but the official Olympic code on in-game apparel (Norway/Norge, Hungary/Magyarorszag, for example).I saw an Iranian wrestler today. His singlet had the design from the flag on the front, but his name spelled out in English on the back. Back-to-Back Fatal Forty Champion 2015 & 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBubba Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 Serbia's swimming uniforms read "Srbija". Nobody cares about your humungous-big signature. PotD: 29/1/12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waltere Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 Dominican Republic have Republicana Dominicana on their kit.I think it's down to a combination of two things:1. All text at the Olympics being in the Roman alphabet, Russia have 'Russia' because they can't have the Cyrillic version of their name etc.2. Most countries own names for themselves aren't all that different from what they're called in English, so any potential differences are often not all that obvious 1 hour ago, BringBackTheVet said: sorry sweetie, but I don't suck minor-league d CCSLC Post of the day September 3rd 2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint Zephyr III Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 Would anyone happen to have a list of what countries call themselves? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin W. Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 Would anyone happen to have a list of what countries call themselves?http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_and_capitals_in_native_languages Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (CHL - 2018 Orr Cup Champions) Chicago Rivermen (UBA/WBL - 2014, 2015, 2017 Intercontinental Cup Champions) King's Own Hexham FC (BIP - 2022 Saint's Cup Champions) Portland Explorers (EFL - Elite Bowl XIX Champions) Real San Diego (UPL) Red Bull Seattle (ULL - 2018, 2019, 2020 Gait Cup Champions) Vancouver Huskies (CL) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njmeadowlanders Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 Since it's sort of related, why do some countries have different names in English in the first place?For example, why does the word "Germany" exist in the English language if they call it Deutschland in German? That would be like someone named "John" being called a different name in a foreign country. You'd still call him John even if you were speaking in Spanish or Chinese or French or whatever. Shouldn't the name just be "Deutschland" in all languages?(Note, I'm not talking names like the United States which could actually be translated into, say, Los Estados Unidos, since there are words for "United" and "States" in Spanish.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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