新奇事件簿 斯威士兰王国更名为伊斯瓦蒂尼（在线收听）

The king of the tiny African nation of Swaziland has changed his country's name to eSwatini. The new name means "land of the Swazis" in the local Swati language. King Mswati III is an absolute monarch, which means he has the power to manage his country as he likes. He renamed his land on Thursday at celebrations marking 50 years of Swazi independence from Britain. The day also coincided with his 50th birthday. Speaking at the nation's Golden Jubilee celebrations, he said: "African countries, on getting independence, reverted to their ancient names before they were colonized. So from now on, the country will officially be known as the Kingdom of eSwatini."

非洲小国家斯威士兰国王将国家的名字改为伊斯瓦蒂尼。在当地语言中，新的名字代表着“斯威士之地”。国王姆斯瓦蒂三世是一名专制的帝王，这意味着他有着管理国家的绝对权力。周四，在纪念斯威士从英国独立50周年庆典上他更改国家名字。这一天也恰好是他的50岁生日。在国家的五十周年纪念庆典上，他说：“获得独立的非洲国家，恢复了被殖民前的古时名字。所以从现在起，这个国家的官方名字为伊斯瓦蒂尼王国。”

The change of name has been talked about in official circles for years. The king has regularly referred to Swaziland as eSwatini in addresses in his country's parliament, at the United Nations General Assembly and to the African Union. Swaziland gained independence from Britain in 1968, but unlike other former British colonies, it retained its colonial-era name. Nyasaland became Malawi, Northern Rhodesia renamed itself Zambia, Bechuanaland changed its name to Botswana, and Rhodesia became Zimbabwe. King Mswati said that from now on, people would not confuse his country with Switzerland. The UN, Google Maps and Internet companies now have to add eSwatini to their databases.

多年来官方一直都在谈论名字的更改问题。在国家议会、联合国大会和非洲联盟的演讲中，国王常提及要把斯威士兰更改为伊斯瓦蒂尼。1968年，斯威士兰从英国获得独立，但是和其他英国殖民地不同的是，这个国家仍沿用了殖民时期的名字。尼亚萨兰变成了马拉维、北罗得西亚改名为赞比亚、贝专纳更名为博茨瓦纳、罗德西亚变为了津巴布韦。姆斯瓦蒂国王表示，从现在起，人们就不会将他的国家和瑞士弄混淆了。联合国、谷歌地图以及互联网公司现在已将伊斯瓦蒂尼列入他们的数据库中。