Mount Everest

Names

In Nepal the mountain is called Sagarmatha (सगरमाथा, Sanskrit for "Forehead of the Sky"). In Tibetan it is Chomolangma or Qomolangma ("Mother of the Universe"), or in Chinese: 珠穆朗瑪峰 (pinyin: Zhūmùlǎngmǎ Fēng).

Related Topics:
Nepal - Sanskrit - Tibetan - Chinese - Pinyin

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The mountain was given its English name by Sir Andrew Waugh, the British surveyor-general of India.

Related Topics:
English - Andrew Waugh - British - India

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Both Nepal and Tibet were closed to foreign travel at the time, and Waugh wrote (in part):

Related Topics:
Nepal - Tibet

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

:I was taught by my respected chief and predecessor, Colonel Sir Geo. Everest to assign to every geographical object its true local or native appellation. ... But here is a mountain, most probably the highest in the world, without any local name that we can discover, whose native appellation, if it has any, will not very likely be ascertained before we are allowed to penetrate into Nepal... In the meantime the privilege as well as the duty devolves on me to assign ... a name whereby it may be known among geographers and become a household word among civilized nations.

Related Topics:
Colonel Sir Geo. Everest - Geographer

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

So Waugh chose to name the mountain after Sir George Everest, first using the spelling Mont Everest, and then Mount Everest. However, the modern pronunciation of Everest – IPA: or (EV-er-est) – is different from Sir George's own pronunciation of his surname, which was (EAVE-rest).

Related Topics:
Sir George Everest - IPA

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Chinese People's Daily newspaper published an article in 2002 attacking the continued use of the English name for the mountain in the Western world, insisting that it should be referred to by its Tibetan name.http://english.people.com.cn/200211/19/eng20021119_107017.shtml

Related Topics:
People's Daily - 2002 - Western world

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~