| Re: Changes to my fotopic site - advance warning |
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Group: uk.transport · Group Profile
Author: Arthur FiggisArthur Figgis Date: Sep 5, 2008 14:18
Roger T. wrote:
> "Twibil" wrote: -
>
>> Us Canadians really object to being called "Americans", as in your
>> header: -
>
> Object all you like: Canada will *still* be located in North America,
> as is the U.S.
>
> ---------------------------------------------
>
> This is correct, "North America". Canadians don't object to "North
> America".
>
> "America" has been stolen by the U.S.A. as the name of their country, which
> is why Canada is not part of "America". The continent name is "North
> America" not "America". Why? See preceeding sentence.
>
> However, why is it that when Canadians object to being called "Americans"
> people like yourself say we are wrong yet if some other country changes
> their name and decides to be called something else, "Mirimar" rather than
> "Burma" for example, or a city says you must now call us "Bejing" instead of
> "Peking" you go along with it?
Except people don't. Beijing and Mumbai yes (though we pronounce Beijing
"wrongly", and I wonder if people actually realise Mumbai is the same
place as Bombay?), Kolkata maybe, but how about Banglore? Or Pretoria?
Myanmar is particularly complicated because of the politics - if you say
Burma, you are an evil western colonialist. If you say Myanmar, you are
an evil propaganda tool of the junta.
Some of the Indian changes aren't quite as simple and universally
welcomed as, say, replacing the previous name of Theodor Heuss Platz in
Berlin.
There is no hope of being "correct" in places like Spain or Belgium.
No-one gets upset about Munich or Florence, and the Czechs don't seem to
have a problem with (perhaps needlessly) feeding names like Carlsbad to
English speakers, but the Poles get upset when someone gives up on a
heap of Zs and says Stettin instead.
FYROM, anyone?
> If Canadians insist that they are not
> "Americans", then you should respect that and not put Canadians down for not
> wanting to be "Americans".
If Britons don't want to be considered Europeans, should the rest of the
world obey?
--
Arthur Figgis Surrey, UK
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