Shashka??? Or what ????

[ariel]

Amusingly, an almost identical argument is conducted as we speak in the thread
"Default Kalis / Kris / Keris Sundang / Solot / Sulok / Suluk"

The same ethnic variability of names, the same overlays of European terminology, the same confusions in spelling/ transliteration , the same firmly held beliefs... :-)))

There are two major schools of Classical Latin in Russia, Moscow and St. Petersburg, and for a couple of centuries they are conducting vicious warfare about proper pronunciation of letter "c" in certain words: as "ts" or as "k". Since native speakers of Roman Latin have all joined the Choire Invisible two millennia ago, final resolution of that momentous clash of the titans is not in the cards in any foreseeable future.

Come to think of it, our arguments are not that much different:-)
However, if we stop being obstinate and open our eyes and ears to the arguments of our opponents, this game becomes a lot of fun and we can learn, - not a whole lot, - at least something new.