The Spelling of the Name “Papúa”

Abstract

I QUITE agree with Mr. Whitmee's objections to English orthography of foreign words (see NATURE, vol. xiv. p. 48), but in this case I intended to show at a glance to non-linguistic readers that the accent in the word Papúa must be on the second syllable, and not on the first. The Germans write “Papua,” and pronounce “Pápǔa” (as they pronounce “Mántǔa,” “Padua,” &c.). This being wrong, and fancying that in England the same mistake is often made, I wrote “Papooa,” which leaves no uncertainty in respect to pronunciation. I confess that it would have been more convenient to retain “Papua,” and remark in a note that the accent must be on the “u.” In a linguistic work I should never have proposed “Papooa,” but it cannot be supposed that every reader of NATURE knows what Marsden pointed out in 1812. In German I write “Papúa,” and perhaps the same mode would be the most convenient in English. It is known that the French use “Papoua,” the Dutch “Papoea,” the Malay “Papuwah.” In these cases the pronunciation may not be qnestionable, as it is in German and English, if written “Papua.”