"Neeka-rah-gua" was how my liberal classmates from high school insisted on pronouncing 'Nicaragua' back in the bad old days when the Sandinistas were in power. It was, for them, a way they could be closer to heroic Sandinista freedom fighters struggling against the evil Reagan administration supported contras.
Jay Nordlinger, in an excellent Impromptus, inveighs against the use of "Torino" where the Winter Olympics will be held next year. The proper English term is 'Turin' as in Shroud of Turin.
As long as we are speaking and writing ENGLISH we should use the appropriate English pronunciation and spelling. To wit, we should say and write 'Germany', not "Deutschland" and 'Spain' not "Espana". We need to teach our children to write and speak English and GREAT for them if they learn another language and can use foreign language terms when appropriate not when its fashionable or politically correct.
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