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 ) 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. 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. Bred Pit... And the way my Irish surname is mangled horrifies me no end. 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. Shame on them!

The way in which our A is written as your 'E' pisses me off.

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.

[Osweo]

Most Russians seem to regard "Ё" as a defective letter. 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.

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!

(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.