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emiluvsjmusic's Avatar
emiluvsjmusic (Offline)
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08-18-2008, 12:05 PM

Quote:
Originally Posted by Wasabista View Post
The names are very different in Japanese.

Turkey = Hachimencho
Chile = Togarashi
Uruguay = Omee Okamada
Paraguay = Okama Futari
Norway = Muri
Sweden = Amaku Suru
Iran = Hashirimashita
Kenya = Dekiru Kai
Hungary = Haraheta

..... sorry.
rofl, epecially at the Norway one XD



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mandalina (Offline)
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08-19-2008, 11:26 AM

deleted...

Last edited by mandalina : 05-13-2009 at 08:54 PM.
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08-19-2008, 12:00 PM

Quote:
Originally Posted by reallylight View Post
Hello,

I have a question which has been bugging me. How come country names in Europe are different depending which country you are in? This is especially strange when the country has the same alphabet as another. Town/City names seem to be the same no matter the language, but for example in English you would say Spain... yet the Spanish people call theiry country Espana.

Why are country names not universal?
Because people in Europe speak in many different languages and in every language the country names are different? It's not that difficult to understand once you think about how and when the people who are speaking in different languages and most probably living in different territories are naming their neighbors (and people they have only heard about for instance) and their countries. Anyway, if you are really bothered by this matter (which i doubt), i suggest reading a good book about Etymology.


Oh, and just to add to the spam pot:

In Latvian a lot of the country names differ drastically from their English versions.

Great Britain - Lielbritānija
Finland - Somija
Estonia - Igaunija
Germany - Vācija
Russia - Krievija
Sweden - Zviedrija

Most of others are phonetically copied from other languages (and altered slightly for them to meet the rules of Latvian grammar):

Japan - Japāna
Spain - Spānija
England - Anglija
Brazil - Brazīlija
Portugal - Portugāle

And so on...


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08-22-2008, 10:48 AM

English - Dutch

Netherlands - Nederland
Japan - Japan
Great Brittain - Groot Brittanië
America - Amerika
Germany - Duitsland
Belgium - België
France - Frankrijk
Spain - Spanje
Greece - Griekenland
Italy - Italië
Scotland - Schotland
Ireland - Ierland
Russia - Rusland
China - China
Sweden - Zweden
Norway - Noorwegen
Brazil - Brazillië

And thats all i know for now XD there's more i know.. but my brains ain't working in full power today
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Suki (Offline)
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09-09-2008, 07:58 PM

Quote:
Originally Posted by Excessum View Post

Germany - Vācija.
I would have never guessed that one.

[]


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06-05-2010, 09:39 AM

English - Croatian (Hrvatski)


USA-SAD- Sjedinjene Američke Države
Canada - Kanada
Mexico - Meksiko
England - Engleska (U.K. Ujedinjeno Kraljevstvo
Portugal - Portugal
Spain - Španjolska
France - Francuska
Germany - Njemačka
Switzerland - Švicarska
Austria - Austria
Netherlands - Nizozemska
Italy - Italija
Denmark - Danska
Hungary - Mađarska
Poland - Poljska
Greece - Grčka
Turkey - Turska
Russia - Rusija
Japan - Japan
South Korea - Južna Koreja
People's Republic of China - Narodna Republika Kina
Norway - Norveška
Croatia - Hrvatska
Finland - Finska
Iceland - Island
Czec republic - Republika Češka
Scotland - Škotska

(Š=sh, Č=ch, J=y in you)


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06-05-2010, 02:57 PM

Because they speak different languages.
I don't think there are any universal country names at all (maybe some that have a similar name in another language, but none that are exactly the same throughout every language).

Also, why is everyone posting country names in different languages? The OP didn't ask for them, he/she is asking why country names are different in different countries/languages (I'm guessing when you said "countries", you meant countries that have different languages). Monkey see, monkey do, I suppose.
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tuonela (Offline)
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07-09-2010, 09:19 AM

I can come up with an example I know. Finland is actually "Suomi" in their language, however Turkish people call them "Finlandiya", which I heard it's because of Sweden which were ruling over Finland for years were calling them "Finlandiya"

So it may either have an historical explanation, or it may be just easier to pronounce

Last edited by tuonela : 07-09-2010 at 09:41 AM.
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Shizu (Offline)
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07-09-2010, 09:42 AM

Wow, interesting topic.

Here are country names in Hungarian.

Hungary -- Magyarország
England -- Anglia
Germany -- Németország
Netherlands -- Hollandia
Sweden -- Svédország
Denmark -- Dánia
Finland -- Finnország
Iceland -- Izland
Czech republic-- Csehország
United States -- Egyesült Államok
America -- Amerika
Japan -- Japán
China -- Kína
Poland -- Lengyelország
France -- Franciaország
Greece -- Görögország
Italy -- Itália or Olaszország
Spain -- Spanyolország
Austria -- Ausztria
Switzerland -- Svájc
Turkey -- Törökország
Russia -- Oroszország

'ország' means 'country'

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07-09-2010, 05:39 PM

Here is the French. I had to look up the nordic countries because I either never learned them or completely blanked out on them. In this font the accents were lost such as on Suede and Coree. But as I began typing the list I noticed forthe first time how close to the sound of English names the French really is. I have noticed it in other languages that they tend to be as close as possible to either the English name or the country's name in it's native toungue, i.e. Espana. And of course in French the gender designation is de rigeur.

(for some reason my edit for spaces or indents is being ignored too)

Hungary - La Hongrie
England - L' Angleterre
Germany - L' Allemange
Netherlands - La Hollande
Sweden - La Suede
Denmark - La Danemark
Finland - Le Finlande
Iceland - L' Islande
Czech Republic - République Tchèque
United States of America - Les Etats-unis d'Amerique
America - Amerique or Etats-unis
Japan - Le Japon
China - La Chine
Poland - La Pologne
France - La France
Greece - La Grece
Italy - L'Italie
Spain - L' Espange
Austria - L'Autriche
Switzerland - La Suisse
Turkey - La Turquie
Russia - La Russie
Australia - L'Australie
Korea - La Coree (Sud ou Nord)


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Last edited by TalnSG : 07-09-2010 at 05:49 PM. Reason: correct layout
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