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"National" is a weird word in English, because it doesn't typically mean "pertaining to the entire nation" but more like "pertaining to the entire country". I t

"National" is a weird word in English, because it doesn't typically mean "pertaining to the entire nation" but more like "pertaining to the entire country". I think it's usually the proper term. It translates to "country-al" in the other languages I know. That said, I don't know about the UK. If a Londoner talks about the "national level", is that England or the UK? Oh damn I'm wrong and starting to see your point. Eg in German, "land" refers specifically to the federal state and not the federation. You need to use bundessomethingsomething to address all of Germany. Weird stuff! EDIT suddenly I realize how weird a name the UN has. There's not really any proper nation states left in the word. Bhutan maybe? I have no idea, but I like to think that it would've been the United Countries but then Scotland would've wanted a seat.

julienfr112 7y ago
France Maybe ?
- enriquto 7y ago
  > France Maybe ? Tell that to the Bretons, Alsatians, Occitans, Corses, Catalans; not to speak of the outre-mer colonies.
- new2628 7y ago
  > Tell that to the Bretons, Alsatians, Occitans, Corses, Catalans; not to speak of the outre-mer colonies. They were told that, that's why they mostly assimilated. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/75/SpeakFrenchBeClean.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/75/SpeakFre...
azernik 7y ago
Fun time to nerd out! The name of the United Nations is an artifact of WWII - that was the name chosen by the alliance on 1 January 1942, just after the US entered the war, to describe their now-common cause. Given the wide variety of regimes fighting on the same side [1] and the common ideological basis of the combatant countries, "nations" and "brotherhood of nations" style of nationalism were an umbrella everyone could get behind while still having an appropriate amount of emotional oomph. [1] Mostly. The USSR wasn't fighting Japan.
MockObject 7y ago
> There's not really any proper nation states left in the word. Bhutan maybe? I beg your pardon?

julienfr112 7y ago

France Maybe ?

enriquto 7y ago
> France Maybe ? Tell that to the Bretons, Alsatians, Occitans, Corses, Catalans; not to speak of the outre-mer colonies.
new2628 7y ago
> Tell that to the Bretons, Alsatians, Occitans, Corses, Catalans; not to speak of the outre-mer colonies. They were told that, that's why they mostly assimilated. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/75/SpeakFrenchBeClean.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/75/SpeakFre...

azernik 7y ago

Fun time to nerd out! The name of the United Nations is an artifact of WWII - that was the name chosen by the alliance on 1 January 1942, just after the US entered the war, to describe their now-common cause. Given the wide variety of regimes fighting on the same side [1] and the common ideological basis of the combatant countries, "nations" and "brotherhood of nations" style of nationalism were an umbrella everyone could get behind while still having an appropriate amount of emotional oomph. [1] Mostly. The USSR wasn't fighting Japan.

MockObject 7y ago

> There's not really any proper nation states left in the word. Bhutan maybe? I beg your pardon?