[go.pawel]

Didymus, I think you've misunderstood the point. It's not about vocabulary, it's about pronounciation. The problem is, people try to explain the correct pronounciation using the sound-letter corespondence system from their own languages. For instance, one can write "Sooper-leg-ehra", but various people will read it in various ways, depending on the language thay use. I could write that it should be pronounced Superledżdżera or that Maybach is pronounced Majbah. But it will only be understood correctly by other polish speakers. That's why english (or any other language) shouldn't be used for these explanations.

Another problem is that english has an irregular pronounciation. And I mean irregular in a lingustic sense. One sound can be represented in two ways, and the other way round - one letter/set of letters can be pronounced in various ways. Furthermore, there are no consistent rules that regulate this. That's a significant difference from most other Indo-European languages. This makes it difficult to accurately explain foreign pronounciation using english letters. Not to mention that each language has its specific sounds which can be explained only approximately.

And as for changing foreign words to fit familiar speech patterns - I, peronally find it wrong, but it's only my point of view and I don't require anybody to agree with it. But proper names definitely should be pronounced the original way. How would you feel if someone mispronounced your last name? I hate when it happens.

I'd encourage everyone to use IPA for any further explanations. That's what it was developed for.

BTW, english is not necessarily the most popular language in the world. Mandarin has about the same amount of speakers. However, English is certainly the most popular second language.