Patrice Riemens on Fri, 13 Jun 1997 21:32:57 +0200 (MET DST)


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<nettime> name.places


The french name for typographical error ('typo') is "coquille" ('shell' in
english, & that's a computer term...). Typos, resp. 'coquilles', are
supposed to be unintentionnal, yet symbolic, and/or hilarious.  Josephine
Bosma's introduction to her interview with Heath Bunting (aka "Eat
Pudding") contained such one: The whole Zentral Kommitteh crew of nettime
- or the closest approximation to such thing - was dispatched to Venice.

In fact they went to Vienna (& on to Berlin).  Of course this error was
not fortuitous, since nettime originated at the Venice Biennale two years
ago - thanks to pretty much the same crowd.

But then name places have a funny life, especially during their
metamorphosis from one language into another. And so we have:

Venezia (It.) = Venice (E); Venise (F); Venedig (D), Venedik (Turkish -
one of Amsterdam's oldest pizzeria is called like that, you immediately
know who runs the show)

Wien (D) = Vienna (E); Vienne (F - to add to confusion,
a French city along the Rhone bears that name); Viyana (Turkish - It would
have a more 'authentic' name, if the siege of 1683 had been successful.
But then, we wouldn't be eating 'croissants' for breakfast...)

Then we have Ljubljana = Laibach of course, and we may round of with my
favourite, in Italian: Monaco di Baviera: Muenchen/Munich (2.5 m
inhabitants); Monaco: my birthplace (25.000 inhabitants, not all called
Becker or Schumacher...)

Next issue: name.people
keep posted!

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