Name of Senya

The name of Senya comes from the Senyan language word Sanya.

Etymology

The term Senya originally stemmed as a word to describe a tribe of people in the unclaimed parts of western Apollonia. The ancient term from the Senyo-Apollonian language was Cænjægum. The suffix -gum indicated plural form, with individuals being known as Cænjæn. Over 500 years as the Senyan language developed, the word evolved to be Sænja, and when the Senyan language orthography was introduced in the late 1990s, the term finally became Sanya.

English corruption

When transliterated into English, native speakers found it difficult to say Sanyans and the first 'a' sound was often replaced by an 'e' sound, and eventually the English language name came to be Senya.

Flag controversy

The Flag of Senya features the name DES Senya on it, which caused uproar amongst the Senyan-speaking community in Senya. Many have argued that as English is a foreign tongue to the Senyan people and that as it came from a non-Senyan corruption, the name on the flag should be the Senyan-language Sanya, where as others have argued that the flag should not have any letters on it. However, support for changing the flag was only 2.3% during a 2017 poll.