Arthur Figgis wrote:
On 19/01/2010 18:57, Charles Ellson wrote:
On Tue, 19 Jan 2010 08:59:18 +0000, Peter
wrote:

Charles Ellson wrote:

In other cases there was an established spelling but as applies in
this someone came along later and recorded/copied it incorrectly.
Rum/Rhum
Hannover/Hanover
Hazelton/Hazleton (Pennsylvania - allegedly misspelled in the
incorporation documents in 1857 and "it's too late to change it now")

Surely Hannover/Hanover is not a misspelling, but simply the English
version - cf Wien/Vienna and countless others.

IOW a stranger getting it wrong.

Was there such a thing as "right" at the time? And anyway, isn't it
potentially racist to suggest that a stranger's opinion is less valid
than a local opinion?

No-one's suggesting it is less valid - just that in another language it
may be rendered differently. Or do you always refer to Bangkok as Krung
Thep Mahanakhon? There's nothing potentially racist in the French
speaking of Êdimbourg or Pêkin - or the British speaking of Peking or
Bombay!

Peter Beale