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Post by The Sonar Chicken on May 22, 2009 8:14:19 GMT
Sooo, I was reading this letter from Dear Abby: "DEAR ABBY: Twenty years ago I married a Navy man. We moved from our home state to Virginia, and I was asked where I was from. I replied, "New York." I was then asked, "What's it like to live in such a big city?" "No," I responded, "I live in upstate New York. I've never been to the city." Then I was asked, "What is 'upstate'?" and had to explain that upstate means in the middle area of New York STATE, only to hear, "There's a state called New York?!" -- SANDY IN ITALY (THE COUNTRY)" One question: sooooo... what the hell is New York, then? I thought it was a city, now I learn it's a state?
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Post by fughawzi on May 22, 2009 10:39:27 GMT
Yeah, New York is a state so it's New York City, New York. Kind of strange, but there you go.
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Post by Elliot Kane on May 22, 2009 10:46:44 GMT
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Post by The Sonar Chicken on May 22, 2009 11:04:33 GMT
fughawzi: Ooh much like how Singapore is both a city and the name of the country. Actually, it's the name of the main island, inhabited by most of the population, I think. Singapore is an island country btw, and most of the smaller islands are either uninhabited or unnamed. @ EK: Hmmm... thanks.
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Post by Ubereil on May 22, 2009 11:14:40 GMT
Lews is from New York (state) by the way... ;D
Übereil
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Post by fughawzi on May 22, 2009 11:29:16 GMT
Lews is from New York (state) by the way... ;D Übereil Eh?
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Post by Ubereil on May 22, 2009 12:03:36 GMT
DOH! He's wrom Washington! Übereil
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Post by Glance A'Lot on May 22, 2009 16:20:08 GMT
...State, not D.C.!
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Post by Nero the Glorious on May 26, 2009 17:18:08 GMT
If English is not your first Language the contextual meanings etc must be incredibly frustrating...
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Post by Glance A'Lot on May 26, 2009 17:53:02 GMT
If English is not your first Language the contextual meanings etc must be incredibly frustrating... Not always - you sometimes have clearer words also. For example you differentiate between safety and security, heaven and sky - in both cases we Germans have only one word. But to make up for it you're prone to give a word three+ meanings...
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Post by Nero the Glorious on May 26, 2009 18:33:45 GMT
I took German in college, I was never any good at it (didn't try very hard really...) but my favorite part of German was the ability to create words by smashing other words together...its genius.
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Post by Ubereil on May 26, 2009 18:56:59 GMT
We have that in Sweden too... Übereil
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Post by kitty on May 27, 2009 10:20:12 GMT
fughawzi: Ooh much like how Singapore is both a city and the name of the country. Actually, it's the name of the main island, inhabited by most of the population, I think. Singapore is an island country btw, and most of the smaller islands are either uninhabited or unnamed. @ EK: Hmmm... thanks. There are unnamed, uninhabited islands? I want ooooone!
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Post by kitty on May 27, 2009 10:21:17 GMT
We have that in Sweden too... Übereil Really? I always wanted to learn swedish, that knowledge might make it easier : D
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Post by killerzzz on May 28, 2009 3:06:38 GMT
Mexico, Mexico. Quebec, Quebec. Guatemala, Guatemala. Hmm, can't think of any more off the top of my head (that we haven't mentioned). We have that in Sweden too... Übereil We've got some in English too. ;D Anteater. Were-wolf. Catwalk. Desktop. Doorknob. Etc. Golly, I wonder what an anteater eats. I think most Germanic languages have it. Killerzzz
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dsf
Newbie
Posts: 13
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Post by dsf on May 28, 2009 10:31:52 GMT
i don't know the difference between Britain, Great Britain, uk. i think england is pretty interchangeably used for those, but means something different actually.
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Post by Elliot Kane on May 28, 2009 11:30:17 GMT
That one I can explain, Dsf, being a Brit and all The United Kingdom (UK) is pretty interchangeable with Britain/Great Britain as a term. It is, as the name suggests, a union of four nations, each of which has their own national identity but all of whom are governed by the UK government. Britain is just a shortening of Great Britain. The four nations that make up the UK are: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. England is the largest part geographically, but all four have made significant and important contributions to the development of the whole. The whole of Ireland was once part of the UK, but Southern Ireland gained its independence in the early part of the last century and is just referred to as 'Ireland'. The term 'Britain' can never be accurately be used to describe just England and never is within the UK itself. Hope that explains things
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Post by Glance A'Lot on May 28, 2009 12:28:34 GMT
hmm - we were taught that Britain was a historical term for England, Cornwall,Wales and others before the union with Scotland; Great Britain being the big island encompassing England, Scotland and Wales, so a geographical term - and the United Kingdom being Great Britain + (Northern) Ireland and such a political term.
In general use the terms are used without clear distinction though it seems.
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Post by Elliot Kane on May 28, 2009 12:53:07 GMT
The British Isles would be the usual geographical designation. 'Great Britain' WAS used to describe the whole thing until Ireland seceded. Now the geographical reference would not chime with the political one, so has lapsed. I think it's truer to say that the meaning has changed over time rather than being unclear. But then, the same is true of other nations/countries, too. Whether Germany includes Alsace or not, for example, depends on the period of history to which you are referring
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Post by Glance A'Lot on Jun 2, 2009 12:05:44 GMT
Whether Germany includes Alsace or not, for example, depends on the period of history to which you are referring Beware Elliot, with Germany you're threading on thin ice - with the Austrian, French and Polish at least ^^ But you're absolutely right - 'Germany' as term is imprecise in itself, as it can stand for - the Holy Roman empire of German Nation - the German Reich as monarchy - the German Reich as the 'Weimar Republic' (Yes, it was actually also called German Reich officially) - the German Reich III - the Federal Republic of Germany (West) - the Democratic Republic of Germany (East) - and finally the (united) Federal Republic of Germany Politically correct 'Germany' was never used as a single word for a sovereign nation.
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