Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is most definitely not a popular name for girls in the U.S. However, Paris and London are indeed quite common. So I don't know what your comment is about.
In fact, that is the problem with that question (19% now... and the second least-guessed is at 45%). It seems to ask for a capital that has become a first name, which is not the case of Sofia.
I agree with Arp, I was hung up on that one and just tried a bunch of cities that could be used as baby names such as Manila, Pretoria, Sanaa, even Apia (all lovely names IMO haha). I thought I finally had it when I thought of Victoria (Seychelles) but alas, it wasn't it. Although thinking about it now, couldn't that be a possible answer as well? Anyway, I think the phrasing could definitely be improved.
According to the SSA, Sofia was the 17th most popular name in the U.S. in 2019 (with an 'f'--it was 4th with a 'ph'). London was 165th (and declining). Paris was 344th (and declining). Victoria, however, was 25th, and has remained fairly steady over the past 20 years, so I could see that being arguably an answer.
Is the D in Djibouti really silent? I allways pronounced at as an affricate, with a strong D! at the begining, not as a plain J. But I'm no native speaker...
I agree. The 'j' in English sounds like it start with a d, in Dutch we would write dj because we pronounce the 'j' like a 'y' in English. So if the pronounciation starts with a d-like sound, is it really silent? Or is the 'j' in Djibouti pronounced like a 'y'?
The "d" is silent. It acts as a pronunciation guide. In French the "j" is normally pronounced as "zh". But with a "d" in front it becomes more like the English "j" (such as in jump).
Tchad and République Tchèque are in the same boat. Chad and Cheque would be pronounced with an initial "sh". But the "t" indicates a pronunciation similar to English "ch" (such as church).
Maybe you should add a part of the clue saying it is in eastern Europe so there is no confusion, as that would limit the answer down to one. Someone would be taking it a little too far to accept Athens for Athena.
Actually, no, Paris is the "Ville-Lumière" because it was the best-lit city in France, and probably for periods of time in Europe or the world. It has nothing to do with Enlightenment. As a side-note: Enlightenment in French is called "les Lumières", plural, never "la Lumière", singular. Paris is the "Ville-Lumière", singular.
Of course, we Parisians like to think of ourselves as a beacon of civilisation bringing light to the world, and at times, we were, and sometimes, we still are - but that probably explains why the nicknname stuck more than where it comes from.
About the baby girls' name clue, you could also add one for baby boys with the answer being Cairo. I know this from Name Geek. Thank you Quizmaster for this great site!
i mean, i wouldnt have called the d in djibouti silent... idk, it would sound the same without it but also not. maybe i just think of german, where the sound is dsch 🤷♂️
Uyyy seriously I missed 100% because I typed nZagreb. The previous one I got was Tallinn, but because none of you useless Jetpunkers can spell the QM cuts double letters at the end of words and correct spellers get punished for it *sigh* *thanks*
One could say it's silent in English, but not in French ...
It's dubious...
Tchad and République Tchèque are in the same boat. Chad and Cheque would be pronounced with an initial "sh". But the "t" indicates a pronunciation similar to English "ch" (such as church).