The Mongol Empire in 1227, at the end of Genghis Khan’s life. Big as it was, his successors would manage to expand its borders even further. Source: Public Domain
A monument dedicated to Genghis Khan in modern-day Mongolia. Source: Fanghong, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Mausoleum of Genghis Khan in present-day Mongolia. While this buidling is quite lovely, the actual resting place of Genghis Khan is not known. Source: Fanghong, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Italian rule about “g” is nothing to do with beginning of the word. it’s about the following vowel. “g” is soft when followed by “e” or “i” and hard when followed by “a”, “o” or “u”.
If you need a hard “g” sound (like “egg”) before an “e” or “i” you have to put an “h” after the “g”. Hence “Genghis” starts with a soft “g” and has a hard one in the middle because there’s an “h” before the “i”
“Garibaldi” started his name with a hard (egg) “g” because it’s followed by an “a”.
The Italian rule about “g” is nothing to do with beginning of the word. it’s about the following vowel. “g” is soft when followed by “e” or “i” and hard when followed by “a”, “o” or “u”.
If you need a hard “g” sound (like “egg”) before an “e” or “i” you have to put an “h” after the “g”. Hence “Genghis” starts with a soft “g” and has a hard one in the middle because there’s an “h” before the “i”
“Garibaldi” started his name with a hard (egg) “g” because it’s followed by an “a”.
There’s an identical rule for “c”
Thanks for letting me know! I did say “generally” in the episode but I always appreciate learning new things.