Words we use in English vs the local terms.

Finland is actually a local term.

Nausea = Sickness in Scotland

France = France

Croatia - Hrvatska

So this is wrong? https://mzv.gov.cz/jnp/en/foreign_relations/public_diplomacy/czechia_vs_czech_republic/index.html#:~:text=In%20the%20case%20of%20the,in%20the%20relevant%20UN%20databases.
1. Distinction between short and formal country names
First of all, it is important to remember that both the short (geographical) name and the formal (political) name serve as official names of the given country. In the case of the Czech state, the formal name is “the Czech Republic” (“Česká republika” in Czech) and the short form Czechia (“Česko” in Czech) stands as its equivalent. Both names are listed in the relevant UN databases.

or this is wrong
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France#:~:text=France%2C%20officially%20the%20French%20Republic,located%20primarily%20in%20Western%20Europe.
France,[IX] officially the French Republic,[X] is a country located primarily in Western Europe.

or both?

Nausea = Sickness in Scotland

Are you sure about that? It is a common word in the English language, indicating the urge to vomit. Or feeling sick to one's stomach. Nausea is a symptom, which may be caused by illness (sickness), but also by many other things.

Badger, thats even more interesting. Finland sounds like "Land of the
Finns" with "Land" being English.

That's more or less exactly what it means. But "Land" in this case is not English, but Old Norse. Land means more or less the same in all germanic languages as far as I know.

So their constitution uses an Engliish creation as the name of the
country.

English has nothing to do with it. The name of the country is Suomi in Finnish and Finland in Swedish.

Maybe I didnt put it right but maybe you understand what I am getting
at.

I'm not sure I do.

That's okay Badger, I learned something. So it's all good. Thanks.

EDIT: Wait, I found a copy of the constitution and it doesn't say Finland on it!! Says Suomi.

Nick, you just pointed out how many layers there are to this. Fun and facinating.

EDIT: Wait, I found a copy of the constitution and it doesn't say
Finland on it!! Says Suomi.

It says Finland here: https://www.finlex.fi/sv/lagstiftning/1999/731#chp_1__heading

1 § Statsskick

Finland är en suverän republik.

Finlands konstitution är fastslagen i denna grundlag. Konstitutionen skall trygga människovärdets okränkbarhet och den enskilda människans frihet och rättigheter samt främja rättvisa i samhället.

Badger,

My Finnish may be a tad rusty but I translate "Finland är en suverän republik.
Finlands konstitution är fastslagen i denna grundlag. Konstitutionen skall trygga människovärdets okränkbarhet och den enskilda människans frihet och rättigheter samt främja rättvisa i samhället" as "your pregnancy brings great joy to the village."

But you may be right since many people say my Finnish language skills are rubbish.

Happy Travels!

More facinating!!

The Spanish autonomous community Pais Vasco in Spanish, and Basque Country in English is Euskadi in Basque (aka Euskara)

But you may be right since many people say my Finnish language skills
are rubbish.

Apparently your Swedish language skills are as well…

My Swedish? I speak Swedish like a native!

Ask me anything! Skita i det blå skåpet- that means I lost my trousers while I was water skiing with a moose!

Okay, you got me. My Swedish is rubbish too.

Happy travels!

Germany = Deutschland (Bundesrepublik Deutschland)
Here we have the germanic 'land' again.

Here in Hawaii the visitors can't figure out how to pronounce proper Hawaiian names so they use an English substitute. Green Sand Beach instead of Papakōlea. Captain Cook instead of Kealakekua. A-Bay instead of Anaehoʻomalu Bay. This is upsetting to the locals of true Hawaiian descent.

Anyone want to try the state fish: humuhumunukunukuapua'a

Scotland = Alba

I'm afraid that is not right. Certainly not right to the great majority of Scots. There are several dialects and languages in use in Scotland, only in one is that correct. Spoken by between 1 and 2 percent of the population.

Wales = Cymru

This is correct as far as it goes politically, within Wales. However - Not all Welsh speak Welsh, in fact less than 20 percent.

Mignon, so Finnish is Germanic? Hmmmmm.

Mignon, so Finnish is Germanic? Hmmmmm.

No, it's an Uralic language. One of the few languages in Europe that is not Indo-European.

As a fluent speaker of both Finnish and Swedish, I would have to say that both languages are indistinguishable to me. But then most of it just sounds like gibberish to me so, yeah, I'm not a highly credible source on these things. But back to this Republic of Texas business, I'm not sure that's a kosher term. Confederate States, Republic of Texas, Akron, Ohio -- all seem a tad sketchy to me.

Badger was faster :-)

Swedish is a germanic language and so is English.

Only countries here: Belgium = Belge, Belgien

Good example of Google gone bad.

Question: "Is Finnish an indo european language?"
First Answer returned with Google: "Finnish is the only non-Indo-European language in the European Union, and is thus interesting precisely because of its uniqueness." Then there is a link to an EU document. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/language/apprendrefi_en.htm#:~:text=Finnish%20is%20the%20only%20non,precisely%20because%20of%20its%20uniqueness.

Finnish is a finno-ugric language such as Hungarian.

Belgium = Belge, Belgien

If we're talking about the name of the country in the local languages, that would be Belgique in French and België in Flemish.

Vienna is Wien, wine is Wein. These two get mixed up a lot by tourists and it cracks me up, especially as Wien is famous for its Wein.

(and then there are the people who I've interacted with and think that Wien is an entirely different city than Vienna)

A small correction on Greece, the correct pronunciation of the name for Greece in Greek is Ellatha (using the type of "th" sound from words like "this" and "there," not the "th" from words like "thanks"). The stress is on the second syllable.

Mignon, you are correct (and Estonian too), which is why Google and apparently the EU (that one document) are wrong.

It was true until 2004, so Googles AI-assistant probably managed to find an old document.

If we're talking about the name of the country in the local languages,
that would be Belgique in French and België in Flemish.

And Belgien in German.

I hope I’m understanding the intent of this thread correctly. When we lived in Germany temporarily in 1990 I discovered another layer of words for many countries and this one struck me as most descriptive:

Ivory Coast = Côte d'Ivoire but in German it is Elfenbeinküste or Elephant Bones in English

Mona. The topic has a number of layers and variations. It's chatting with the hope of gaining a little understanding at some level .... or just for fun. Anything more serious is unnecessary. So you are perfect.

Germany can also stand for many Ger which was a javelin (weapon).

The world's biggest error is about what a hamburger is. ;-)

The one that threw me off was crossing the border into the Slovenska Republika (Slovakia), which was too close to "Slovenia".

I don’t know David, it all sounds like Greek to me.

The official name of Mexico is Estados Unidos Mexicanos (United Mexican States).

In Spanish, México has an accent.

And while you NOB people (that's "North of Border" to us Mexican immigrants) refer to yourselves as Americans, we refer to you as estadounidenses.

Lane, when I worked at the border station at Los Indios, I was called something much different.

Mr. E, I've been called something different from time to time as well.

The term gringo is used widely by us immigrants and expats to refer to ourselves, but when Mexicans use it, it is considered derogatory.

Gringo? Naaaa, not derogatory where I come from. More of a factual statement. But what do I know? I grew up and worked in South Texas.

Switzerland = Confoederatio Helvetica

Florence = Firenze

Venice = Venezia

Too many to list in Italy alone where, by the way, “Finland” is Finlandia.

I googled Gringo, The AI answered:

AI Overview Learn more Yes, "gringo" can be considered a derogatory
term, especially in some parts of Latin America. It's often used to
refer to foreigners, particularly those of American or English origin.
While some view it as a neutral descriptor or a playful term, it can
be seen as offensive or a racial slur, according to the Los Angeles
Times and Wikipedia.

But then I don't trust AI. I saw this movie, Terminator, where AI invented killer robots and went after both gringos and non-gringos alike,

@Laurel

Switzerland is really an interesting one with it's Latin name.

Quite right about Belgique in French. I listed "Belgien" since German is one of the administrative languages. In French and English too the name for the city is Liege, in German it's Lüttich. I've over heard Germans refer to that city as such, they didn't day "Liege".

Switzerland is really an interesting one with it's Latin name.

Yes! Hence CHF means Swiss Francs and dotCH is the URL suffix. Lots of history loaded in that one with so many intersecting cultures in the country.

Japan = Nipon
The old USSR was CCCP (in Cyrilic)

Not a country, but the border between. Rio Grande = Rio Bravo

Use a French language map for Germany and you'll see Frankfort, Mayence, Ratisbon, Cologne, Aix-la-Chapelle.

David; Look the Terminator flick over closely. What you will find is that he actually calls several of them gringo under his breath, when they make him work up a sweat, in an attenuated voice, as he wasn't programmed to openly insult anyone and has to take care to be polite at all times.

Albion = Thorn in the side of several continental dictators, emperors, royals, countries and neighbouring islands.

Some still use the word Holland for our country the Netherlands, or Nederland in Dutch. For the locals Holland is in short the name of the two provinces South Holland (Zuid-Holland) and North Holland (Noord-Holland). If it is used outside these provinces it’s for commercial reasons like “Made in Holland” and stands for good quality, but nowadays “Made in the Netherlands” is used more and more.

In English we speak Dutch, maar wij Nederlanders spreken Nederlands.

As far as I know there are just two cities named differently in English: The Hague is Den Haag or ‘s Gravenhage, and Flushing is Vlissingen. And means being of importance for those living at the other side of the North Sea. A bit further, across the pond in Flushing Meadows you can play tennis.

Den Bosch is another Dutch city that has a different name commonly used in English ('s-Hertogenbosch). Do the Dutch switch between both or favour one over the other?

We use both names for the same place in the Netherlands. Den Bosch is more easy to pronounce and as far as I know the reason we use it more. The name 's Hertogenbosch is more official and to find for instance on road maps and in the time tables of public transport. For English speakers you can use the name you prefer or most easy to pronounce.

Especially 's-Gravenhage can be for many non native speakers a real challenge, in this case you can use The Hague.

I don't think I've ever heard anyone say 's-Gravenhage out loud. Here's a short video with the Dutch pronunciation.

https://youtu.be/9fZ6cGfHcFY?si=-h29JXPD9ctAkYdk

My world : https://youtu.be/wdaJUsNqhBI?si=zH-TLoFn4ufqXGa0

GerryM - Sounds good!

Maybe Belgium is of more importance because Flanders is Vlaanderen and Wallonia is Wallonië in Flemish (Vlaams). Compared to the Netherlands much more names of cities are spelled differently in English, like:

Brussels = Brussel
Antwerp = Antwerpen
Bruges = Brugge
Ghent = Gent
Ostend = Oostende
Liege (as already noticed) Luik

Even cities in France, once part of Flanders long ago, like Dunkirk is still named Duinkerken and Lille for some still named Rijssel or in a historical context is Arras named Atrecht.

However many places are spelled differently in French too, like: Bruxelles = Brussel, Anvers = Antwerpen, Gand = Gent and so on.

Use a French language map for Germany and you'll see Frankfort,

Noting that “Frankfort” was the normal spelling used in English until about 60-70 years ago*. Perhaps there is a gradual trend to adopt local spellings of places in their native language.

*The New York Times first used the Frankfurt spelling for Frankfurt am Main on 24 October 1953 and last used the Frankfort spelling on 10 June 1954.

Thanks for the information, and presumably with "Frankfurt an der Oder" as well.

I guess I looked at this differently, I thought maybe you were referring to the difference in names we have for objects such as the Swiss. What they consider a cable car, we refer to as an aerial tram. Cable cars in California are those things that go up down the streets of San Francisco.

It's just an interesting conversation.

Hungarian was mentioned above .... sure, related to Fnnish and Estonian but divided by 2500 years of development. https://w7.pngwing.com/pngs/394/413/png-transparent-uralic-languages-hungarian-language-family-finnish-tree-branch-angle-english-text.png

Wasn’t criticizing…..just noting what I thought you were referring to.

Margie, no problem all. It's all good.

Rösti not exactly hashbrowns

Ivory Coast = Côte d'Ivoire but in German it is Elfenbeinküste or
Elephant Bones in English

Elfenbein is the German word for Ivory. "Elephant Bones" would be Elefantenknochen.

Elfenbein is also the official colour for German taxis.

Interestingly "Wales" is an exonym, and its root is the Germanic "Walha" which just means "non Germanic". So the Welsh are just foreigners. And you find exonyms based on the same root elsewhere:

In the Middle Ages the French speaking parts of the then a lot larger then present Dutchy of Flanders where called "Waalsch Vlaanderen"[1]. Later the term was expanded to encompass all of the French speaking part of the Low Countries: Wallonia.

The Germanic Swiss call the French speaking part of Switzerland sometimes "Welschland" or the "Welschschweiz". And Romania used to be called Wallachia by non Romanians...

Rösti not exactly hashbrowns

Nigel, We could do another thread on menu translations! Calling prosciutto “ham” on Italian menus drives me crazy!

WengenK - Thanks for the explanation of "Walha" and the link with "Waalsch Vlaanderen". Interesting to learn how deeply rooted the differences in character of a country like Belgium can be. Till today it’s a serious issue there, mostly political.

It took me a while to work out that Mallorca and Majorca are one and the same place. This was a long time ago, but the Mallorca spelling in English writing became more common at some point. I'd always known it as Majorca growing up; it was a big destination for British people from early on in Spain's tourist development.

[edit:] One is Catalan, right? It's probably a bit more accepted to call places by their Catalan name these days than it was in the early 80's.

Not really sure I follow the logic, since you'd expect to find the names of countries in local languages to be different.

Sticking completely to English, take the case of Ireland:

Ireland has two official languages: English and Irish and all laws + the constitution is published in both languages, with Irish taken precedent in cases where the English version is unclear.

The constitution states that the name of the country is Ireland in English and Eire in Irish, so far so good. This means that there is no such country as the Republic of Ireland, it's the name of the football (soccer) team! However there is a law that states that the "Description" of the state is: The Republic of Ireland!

And then there is the UK's Ireland Act of 1949, which has two interesting clauses:
- The name of the Irish State is Eire
- Irish citizens are not foreigners!

So you have the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs referring to the country as Ireland, while UK Foreign Office officials refer to the country as Eire (the Irish name!). And when it comes to discussing Irish affairs in Westminster it produces some of the most confusing discussing imaginable.

This came up in part (small part) because from time to time I see in the forum the local language name used instead of the English name; and not by native language speakers. Even here among tourists, they will say Budapest instead of the English name, Budapest, and then, often. they will say Budapest (in Hungarian) followed by "Hungary." Well, if you are going to start in Hungarian, you ought to finish in Hungarian. (I am trying to be funny of course, as none of it really matters).

Alba for Scotland is OK, but only in certain parts. It is the Gaelic name for the country, hence why the BBC Gaelic language service is called BBC Alba.

Outside the Hebrides it is probably not a good idea to use that name.