4 ms·
The whole Middle East has called it some variation of Yunan (Yunanistan specifically meaning "Land of the Yunan") for about 3000 years. It derives from Ionian[0
by someotherperson 4y ago
The whole Middle East has called it some variation of Yunan (Yunanistan specifically meaning "Land of the Yunan") for about 3000 years. It derives from Ionian[0] and roughly specified the land Ionia[1] region and the name is baked into everything (modern and historical) from Hebrew to Persian to Arabic to Assyrian.
On the back of this, though, in many countries in the Middle East the Latin names are used for most countries in Europe, including Germany, which is referred to as Alemaan (from proto-Germanic Alemanniz[2]).
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ionians https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ionians
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ionia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ionia
[2] https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Alemanni https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Alemanni
- behnamoh 4y agoThe region that's now called "Iran" was called Persia by the West for at least 2000 years, until the Shah of Iran requested the world to refer to the country as "Iran", which is the term used by the Iranians. Fun fact: "Iran" means "the land of the Aryans".
- thaumasiotes 4y ago> The whole Middle East has called it some variation of Yunan (Yunanistan specifically meaning "Land of the Yunan") for about 3000 years. It derives from Ionian > the name is baked into everything (modern and historical) from Hebrew to Persian to Arabic to Assyrian. The term is also used in Han China for the Greek kingdom that came to exist near them. There would have been no real awareness of the original region of Ionia, though there was rudimentary awareness of the Roman Empire a bit later. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dayuan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dayuan
- emmelaich 4y agoI wonder whether that applies to Yunnan as well. It is the most westerly high population province of China.
- thaumasiotes 4y ago> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yunnan#Etymology https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yunnan#Etymology This suggests that the reason for the name isn't really known, but no one thinks it might refer to the Greeks.
- hnbad 4y agoAs a German I'm fine with Alemaan (note that the German name for Germany is nothing like Germany either). But it's worth noting that in German "Alman" has become the equivalent of "gammon" in the UK, especially among immigrants and in youth culture. I.e. a derogatory slur for a specific type of native-born person (usually men) holding naïvely reactionary views. Not necessarily intentionally racist but always ignorant.