Belize in other languages: exonyms, Belmopan, flag and districts

One English name and how other languages bend it

English is the official language of Belize, so the official name and the everyday name are the same word, and the country has no second native script to set beside it. Its adjective is Belizean.

Most of the variation sits at the end of the word. A long row of languages drops the final e and writes Beliz: Azerbaijani, Turkmen, Crimean Tatar, Bosnian, Uzbek and, in Cyrillic, Russian Белиз with Bulgarian, Kalmyk and a dozen others. Macedonian and Serbian keep it as Белизе. Grammar adds its own endings: Belizas in Lithuanian, Belėzos in Samogitian, Belizo in Esperanto and Belisän in Volapük.

Spelling rules do the rest. Maltese writes Beliże with the dotted ż, Icelandic Belís and Plautdietsch Belies. Irish and Manx put the article in front and mutate the first consonant, An Bheilís and Yn Veleesh. Vietnamese splits the name into three hyphenated syllables, Bê-li-xê.

The languages of the region show a different ear. Yucatec Maya writes Beelis, Aymara Wilisi, Quechua Bilisi and Samoan Pelise, each fitting the name into its own set of sounds. Arabic uses بيليز (Bīlīz) and بليز (Bilīz), Hebrew בליז (Belīz), Japanese ベリーズ (Berīzu) and Chinese 伯利兹 (Bólìzī).

Belmopan, Belize City and the district capitals

Belmopan has been the national capital since 3 August 1970, when the seat of government moved inland from Belize City; three years later, on 1 June 1973, the colony of British Honduras took the name Belize. The capital lies in Cayo District, while Belize City remains the capital of Belize District.

Abroad Belmopan changes even less than the country name. Esperanto adds its noun ending, Belmopano, Latvian makes Belmopana and Lithuanian Belmopanas. Spanish puts an accent on the last syllable, Belmopán, and Russian writes a soft sign after the l: Бельмопан (Belʹmopan). Nahuatl writes Hueymolpan and Aymara Wilmupan, the two forms that move furthest from the original.

Three districts share their name with their capital: Corozal Town, Orange Walk Town and Belize City. Stann Creek is governed from Dangriga, Toledo from Punta Gorda and Cayo from San Ignacio. The word Belize therefore names a country, a district and the largest city at once.