Latvia must protect its language correctly

In Latvia, proper names in foreign languages are generally transcribed, however the people doing the transcribing often either don't know the rules or don't apply them. Gvido Pētersons, editor of Jāņa Sēta, the country's largest map publisher, laments that attempts to protect the language are often misguided: "The transcription of proper names is important, because this is not just about how to write 'Atlantic' or other geographical names. The name of the American president, for example, if a philologist had taken the time for a proper analysis before he was elected, would be written Barāks Obama [instead of the common Baraks Obama]. If everyone had the rules at hand at all times, no wrong versions would appear in the papers. Some of the institutions responsible for protecting the language suffer from a chronic shortage of funding. Nevertheless the decision must be made once and for all as to what is more important: developing our language or bullying Russian grannies in their stores [into serving customers in Latvian]."

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