Here we look at differing treatments of the word “West” in signboards in India.
First from Kerala:
Here, the word “West” is transliterated both in Malayalam and Hindi.
And from Rajasthan:
Here, too, the word is transliterated rather than translated into Hindi.
Tirupati West, next to the larger Tirupati which was known as Tirupati East long ago.
Here, the appropriate words in Telugu and Hindi have been used.
In Tamil Nadu:
West is transliterated into Hindi and Tamil.
There used to be a West Point near Darjeeling but it does not exist now.
Let us see if other directions are translated or transliterated in signs in India.
Meanwhile, here is Maharani Paschim in Uttar Pradesh:
Finally, we stop over in West Berlin:
The Germans are not at fault, as their word for West is West.
(This reads: Warning! You are now leaving West Berlin).
However the terms East Berlin and East Germany were never used by the concerned governments.
abn397 