Proper names: to write them as they are or to transcribe them?

[W. R.]

What is the best way for a language X that uses a Latin based alphabet? Share your opinion, please.

The first way:

George Walker Bush je bývalý 43. prezident Spojených států amerických, člen Republikánské strany, pocházející z prominentní rodiny Bushů.
George Walker Bush ist ein US-amerikanischer Politiker der Republikanischen Partei und war von 2001 bis 2009 der 43. Präsident der Vereinigten Staaten.

The second way:

Corc Uoker Buş - Amerika Birləşmiş Ştatlarının 43-cü prezidenti (2000-2008).
Džordžas Volkeris Bušas – JAV respublikonų politikas, 43-asis JAV prezidentas (2000-2009), po 2004 metų rinkimų valdė antrąją kadenciją.
Džordžs Volkers Bušs bija 43. ASV prezidents.

[Oinakos Growion]

When I went to school (long time ago :D) I was told to "never translate people's names and try to write them in the original form"... I always thought it was a good thing to do as it shows respect for the other person (even if not deserving) ;) Same way I hate to see my own name misspelled or not pronounced properly.
Actually, sometimes a debate arises with placenames too: adapt them to our own language or try to keep them in the "original form" (or as close to it as possible)?

[Osweo]

I like the original forms best. And that goes for placenames too. It just seems more interesting to me, as well as respectful.

Sometimes it's a bit difficult, owing to the nature of different scripts. In such cases, where the letters stand for strict phonetic values, I favour a version which has the best phonetic approximation. I hate the accepted system for transliterating Russian, for example, and tend to do it my OWN way. :p Seeing the letter 'yo' transliterated as 'E' is just stupid. Same goes with the English > Russian system. The way in which our A is written as your 'E' pisses me off. :p Bred Pit... :rage And the way my Irish surname is mangled horrifies me no end. :mad: I tend to put it in Cyrillic in a different way than written on my visa, slightly re-Hibernicised in a way to better suit Russian pronunciation ability.

[W. R.]

Seeing the letter 'yo' transliterated as 'E' is just stupid.Most Russians seem to regard "Ё" as a defective letter. :mad: Shame on them!
The way in which our A is written as your 'E' pisses me off. :pIs э better?.. Besides that what else can be done with this "frog" [æ]? We don't have such a phoneme in this part of Europe. :shrug:

[Osweo]

Most Russians seem to regard "Ё" as a defective letter. :mad: Shame on them!Is э better?.. Besides that what else can be done with this "frog" [æ]? We don't have such a phoneme in this part of Europe. :shrug:

Heh, the thing is, I don't have that phoneme in my dialect either. The official transliteration is based on a rather archaic notion of what 'proper English' is. Most people in England don't use that phoneme, indeed! :p

(I also pronounce our U the same as your У. I was unable to pronounce /ʌ/ until I was in my twenties, and made a special effort to do so.)

I would rather you used your 'A' for our 'A', and treated the slight difference as just a matter of accent and subtle irrelevance.