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two not one... Zuid Holland and Noord Holland

by RmDen 7y ago

lebuffon 7y ago
Is this more common in English or does it happen in other languages also? Example: Q: What you call your country? A: Deutschland Q: Ok, then we'll call it Germany ???
- eesmith 7y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_Germany https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_Germany - "Because of Germany's long history as a non-united region of distinct tribes and states before January 1871, there are many widely varying names of Germany in different languages, perhaps more so than for any other European nation." I like 'Navajo: Béésh Bich’ahii Bikéyah ("Metal Cap-wearer Land"), in reference to Stahlhelm-wearing German soldiers.'
- smcl 7y ago
  It happens all the time. Think how many non-Brits refer to the UK as “England” for one example
- mumblemumble 7y ago
  Usually, at least in Europe, if it's not due to linguistic drift or somesuch, it's because the name is just being translated. For example, the French name for the Netherlands, "Pays-Bas", is just a literal translation of "nether lands". My guess for Germany, which certainly seems the weirdest, is that it's a result of that process happening and the name getting fixed at different times for different languages, combined with the region having a rather complicated political history.
  - blattimwind 7y ago
    Germany comes from Germania which is Latin. Deutschland is deutsch + land, and deutsch can be traced to proto-germanic origins (common root with Dutch, I believe). So Germany is not actually one of these cases; it's an externally assigned name.
    - deleted 7y ago
      [deleted]
- yorwba 7y ago
  Edonyms vs. exonyms. Happens in every language. It's especially common when the two sides have difficulty communicating: "What do you call yourself?" "Ger man." (Spear man [1]) "... henceforth the lands east of the Rhine shall be known as Germania." [1] This is only one possible etymology.
- levosmetalo 7y ago
  Just because one country decided to change its official name there's no reason all other languages and countries in the world would need to follow.
- RmDen 7y ago
  Croatia - Hrvatska is another... BTW people in the Netherlands will say Holland as well... when the Dutch team play soccer, hup Holland (come on/let's go Holland) is a common chant (there are even songs with that name)
- mdemare 7y ago
  It mostly happens to "Deutschland", actually: Germany (English), Allemagne (French), Tyskland (Danish), Německo (Czech). Only in the Netherlands (and Flanders) is the name used that they chose for themselves (Duitsland). This apparently confused the English so much that they called the inhabitants of the Netherlands "Dutch".

two not one... Zuid Holland and Noord Holland

by RmDen 7y ago

two not one... Zuid Holland and Noord Holland

Is this more common in English or does it happen in other languages also? Example: Q: What you call your country? A: Deutschland Q: Ok, then we'll call it Germany ???

eesmith 7y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_Germany https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_Germany - "Because of Germany's long history as a non-united region of distinct tribes and states before January 1871, there are many widely varying names of Germany in different languages, perhaps more so than for any other European nation." I like 'Navajo: Béésh Bich’ahii Bikéyah ("Metal Cap-wearer Land"), in reference to Stahlhelm-wearing German soldiers.'
smcl 7y ago
It happens all the time. Think how many non-Brits refer to the UK as “England” for one example
mumblemumble 7y ago
Usually, at least in Europe, if it's not due to linguistic drift or somesuch, it's because the name is just being translated. For example, the French name for the Netherlands, "Pays-Bas", is just a literal translation of "nether lands". My guess for Germany, which certainly seems the weirdest, is that it's a result of that process happening and the name getting fixed at different times for different languages, combined with the region having a rather complicated political history.
- blattimwind 7y ago
  Germany comes from Germania which is Latin. Deutschland is deutsch + land, and deutsch can be traced to proto-germanic origins (common root with Dutch, I believe). So Germany is not actually one of these cases; it's an externally assigned name.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
yorwba 7y ago
Edonyms vs. exonyms. Happens in every language. It's especially common when the two sides have difficulty communicating: "What do you call yourself?" "Ger man." (Spear man [1]) "... henceforth the lands east of the Rhine shall be known as Germania." [1] This is only one possible etymology.
levosmetalo 7y ago
Just because one country decided to change its official name there's no reason all other languages and countries in the world would need to follow.
RmDen 7y ago
Croatia - Hrvatska is another... BTW people in the Netherlands will say Holland as well... when the Dutch team play soccer, hup Holland (come on/let's go Holland) is a common chant (there are even songs with that name)
mdemare 7y ago
It mostly happens to "Deutschland", actually: Germany (English), Allemagne (French), Tyskland (Danish), Německo (Czech). Only in the Netherlands (and Flanders) is the name used that they chose for themselves (Duitsland). This apparently confused the English so much that they called the inhabitants of the Netherlands "Dutch".