Originally Posted By Darkbeer <a href="http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0" target="_blank">http://deseretnews.com/dn/view /0</a>,1249,635183817,00.html >>First, there's the name, which has caused more than a little confusion. In the English language, on maps, in encyclopedias, in tour guides, etc., the city is known as Turin. Torino is the Italian spelling — like Roma for Rome or Firenze for Florence — and the name dates back to a couple of hundred years B.C. when a small group of Celts established a village, in the long shadow of the Alps, they called Taurasia. It was an NBC executive, so the story goes, who decided, after Torino won the Olympics seven years ago, that as far as NBC was concerned, the city name would keep its Italianized version because it sounded more exciting. If NBC had used the same criteria four years ago in Salt Lake City, they would have been the Citta del lago Salato 2002 Olympic Winter Games.<< <a href="http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/olympics/259290_chad13.html" target="_blank">http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/ olympics/259290_chad13.html</a> >>But as Ebersol explained to reporters, "Torino just rolls off your mouth. It has a romanticism to it. And I just thought that that was a wonderful way to name these Games." Heck, if Ebersol had thought of it in time, the 2004 Summer Olympics would've been in Athinai. So, in the name of ratings, Ebersol -- a longtime holdout to keeping the score on-screen all the time because he did not want, as he put it, "to provide a road map" to viewers to switch channels -- has simply decided he can call a place anything he pleases. Thus, on all of NBC's Olympic telecasts -- on NBC, CNBC, MSNBC and USA -- Turin is Torino for the next couple of weeks. It's even possible Torino will show up subsequently on "ER," "Las Vegas" and "Fear Factor."<< <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/reviews/review_display.jsp" target="_blank">http://www.hollywoodreporter.c om/thr/reviews/review_display.jsp</a>? >>Even though the Olympics are in Turin (as in "the Shroud of"), NBC refers to the city as Torino, a name you won't find on any map outside of Italy. Last month, NBC Sports and Olympics chairman Dick Ebersol explained to TV critics that he liked the sound of "Torino," and it made local officials deliriously happy. So at least there's a good reason for this silly affectation.<<
Originally Posted By BlueDevilSF >>Yes, the Italian spelling of the word is Torino, but it is pronounced Turin, as in the Shroud of Turin. If the Olympics were held in Roma, would we not say Rome????<< It's the fault of the liberals.
Originally Posted By FaMulan More much ado about nothing. Tuirn, Italy and Torino, Italia are one and the same city. Get over it, any way you say it, these are actually very boring games that I'm watching very little of.
Originally Posted By TomSawyer >>I'm not sure why this matters so much, Darkbeer.<< See what happens when there is nothing but good news coming out of Disney these days?
Originally Posted By Rosso11 I don't see what the problem is. Most of the world does say Torino. This is the actual name of the city. The Italians are advertising it as "Torino." They want people to call it by its real name, not its English name. Those news stories that someone posted are absurd. "If NBC had used the same criteria four years ago in Salt Lake City, they would have been the Citta del lago Salato 2002 Olympic Winter Games." This comment is so dumb. Salt Lake City is in America. Torino is in Italy. Why are people making such a big deal about this. Torino is the real name of the city. Turin is the English translation that is not even used by the majority of poeple in the US. Living in New York I have never heard any one say in the past they just came back from Italy and visited Turin. They always say Torino. Honestly I don't think I have ever heard Torino refered to as Turin befor the Olympics. If NBC wants to be authentic what is wrong with that.
Originally Posted By bboisvert I remember that DB dug his heels in real deep on the issue of 7/17/55 not being the real birthday of DL. No one really saw that "contraversy" either. If the city officials want people to call their city Torino, Camero, Corvette, Trans Am, or any other GM car, what's the big deal?
Originally Posted By TomSawyer That was also a Ford. The Torino became the Gran Torino about 1973 or so.
Originally Posted By DlandDug Forwaht it's worth, both the Orange County Register and the ultraliberal Los Angeles Time are printing their Olympic coverage in a newspaper section entitled "TURIN 2006." (Or should that be the El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Poriuncula Times???)
Originally Posted By basas CBC switches between the two (seemingly using Turin, Torino, then Turin, etc.). I find it dumb to use "Torino"...we speak English, not Italian...same thing could have applied to a million cities in the past.
Originally Posted By TomSawyer Pontiac has the GTO. GT in a car name usually is meant to evoke "grand touring" or "gran turismo" and comfortable long-distance driving.
Originally Posted By Rosso11 In the United States English is definitely the predominate language. However, Torino is a name of a city. Whenever I travel throughout Europe or Asia New York is called "New York." It is rarely translated into their native language. It is a proper name just like Torino. Granted New York has a translation in every language however, it is fully excepted to use the original English translation. The same goes for Torino. It is a proper name of a city and either version is acceptable.
Originally Posted By trekkeruss <<the decision was made back in 1999, by Dick Ebersol, and NBC's money is what is behind the IOC decision made later.>> Okay, fine. Again, so what? Is calling the city by how Italians know it as wrong somehow? Are you so Americentric that you have to find a way to discredit the reason for not using Turin?
Originally Posted By bboisvert RE: the Pontiac GTO. Thanks for clearing that up. I take back everything I said and I completely agree with DB's original point. What was it again? ;-)
Originally Posted By JohnS1 "What's the point in cutting and pasting a bunch of news stories? It doesn't prove anything; it just tells us what we all know." I found the news articles helpful because I didn't know any of this. Thanks Darkbeer.
