Evolution of place-names

Feb 05, 2006 18:38


Even though nations and peoples may disappear and transition with time, oftentimes their names remain-- if even in an archaic, etymological reference. However, we sometimes take this for granted. Could these areas now so-labelled be legitimately referred to using the "old" name?

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etymology, toponyms

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Comments 108

fenoxielo524 February 5 2006, 18:45:07 UTC
As for the UK/GB thing, I believe this is how it works: "England" is, well, England, where London is and all that, "Great Britain" is England, Scotland, and Wales, and the United Kingdom is Great Britain and Northern Ireland, as you said.

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ulvesang February 5 2006, 18:52:34 UTC
I'm not stupid; I know what bloody England is.

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sparkofcreation February 5 2006, 19:09:13 UTC
Calm down, please.

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ulvesang February 5 2006, 19:13:41 UTC
Sorry; it's just like going into a garage and asking: "What is wrong with my car?", and the mechanic replies: "Well, it doesn't work".

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colourmestupidx February 5 2006, 18:51:43 UTC
I believe that the South American country is spelled "Colombia" (correct me if I'm wrong) but there might still be some type of link.

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lovelies February 5 2006, 20:12:20 UTC
Christopher Columbus, most like.

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amygooglegirl February 5 2006, 18:54:32 UTC
Semantically, I would call someone from Northern Ireland Irish, not British.

I see your point, the word "British" comes from "Britain", but the citizenship of someone from the UK officially is "British", isn't it? At least that's the way it's described in official papers about becoming a UK citizen. In that respect, someone from NI is officially a British citizen, even if it doesn't make much sense semantically.

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kali_kali February 5 2006, 18:56:54 UTC
No, they don't speak Gothic-- but Latvians don't speak Liivi anymore (or at least most of them), either..

That's because Latvians never spoke Liivi to begin with. The Liivi are a separate ethnic group, related to the Finns and Estonians, who live along the Baltic coast in parts of Latvia. Latvians are Balts related to the Lithuanians. The language of the Liivi has been on the decline, but measures are in place to keep it alive and the Liivi are a protected minority in Latvia.

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ulvesang February 5 2006, 19:00:36 UTC
Nevertheless, they are Latvian citizens.

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kali_kali February 5 2006, 19:02:36 UTC
Yes, but what does that have to do with it? Above, it looked like you were trying to say that Latvians used to speak Liivi, but now don't, which is untrue, since they never did.

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ulvesang February 5 2006, 19:10:28 UTC
If Liivi are Latvian citizens, that means that they are also Latvian, and speak (spoke?) Liivi. Therefore, (some) Latvians speak/spoke Liivi.

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sparkofcreation February 5 2006, 19:10:19 UTC
My Scottish husband agrees with you on someone from Northern Ireland being called Irish. I'd imagine to actually do so might cause problems when travelling internationally, though.

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bardiphouka February 5 2006, 19:16:14 UTC
Most of the Roman Catholics I know from Northern Ireland call themselves Irish while most of the Protestants I know call themselves Ulsterman. Which is somewhat misleading because not all of Ulster is in Northern Ireland. Sort of akin to the Derry Londonderry issue perhaps?

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