Geography Question

[Yorick]

quote:

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Originally posted by Donut:


Cat got your tongue. Or are you foaming at the mouth so much you forgot to type anything?

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Now where did you go?

Hey Epona! Cheers o' Hyena!

Yeah the renaming thing is so annoying. A leftover from the Roman tradition I believe, as the Greeks attempted to call people what they called themselves. I reckon the wierdest is Deutschland. Germany in English, Allemagne in French, Saxe in Finnish. Even Finland is Suomi or something in it's native tounge.

But then we get the other extreme regarding Myanmar/Burma, where a dictatorship usurps power, decides to change the name and the world media follows suit. I heard some ex-pat Burmese tried to campaign against it.

What do we call Congo - formally Zaire, and before that Congo (Kinhasa) now. Congo (Brazzaville?) is it's neighbour.

Then there's Macedonia (in Greece) who campaigned against 'TFYROM' (the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) or 'Skopje' or whatever they wanted to call it, from calling themselves 'Macedonia'.

aaarrgghh!

[Yorick]

quote:

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Originally posted by Barry the Sprout:
I stand by what I said earlier. Whislt the native people had "discovered" the land way before anyone else (by definition) the actual thread was referring to its "discovery" by Western civilisation. This is neither more or less important or significant in my view. I was not saying that we were the only people that mattered, just trying to answer the question posed. Sorry if this caused any offence to anyone, I honestly didn't mean it...

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That's alright mate, it's just that language shapes thought. In Oz we've been replacing "colonisation" with "invasion" in history books, because of the offense such denialist thinking gives to indigenous Australians. Similarly, perpetuation of "discovered" as a word perpetuates the "Terra Nullis" (empty land) thinking that justified western imperialism.

Consequently it is indeed becoming incorrect to use the word "discovered", as it is purely from a European perspective, and hampers reconciliation.

[ 01-24-2002: Message edited by: Yorick ]

[LennonCook]

quote:

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Originally posted by Donut:



I may be being hard on you here Yorick - it must be hard learning when all your schooling has to be done over the radio because everyone lives so far apart in Australia.

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We have more land, and native wildlife here then in pommiland at any rate...

[/)eathKiller]

*makes up a flag in the shape of an oval*

*walks into back yard*

*tapes flag to toothpic*

* Jams toothpic into ground*

I CLAIM THIS LAND FOR NEO New Zealand!

*plays VNV nation's Anthem*

AND THAT SHALL BE OUR ANTHEM!

NEO NEW ZEALAND! YOUR THE ONLY ONE! CUZ WITHOUT YOU THE WORLDS A LITTLE LESS FUN! AND IF YOU THINKG IVE LOST IT! STICKING A TOOTHPIC IN THE GROUND! JUST TAKE A STEP BACK IN HERE AND HAVE A LOOK AROUND! WE GOT WORKERS AND TYRANTS THEIFS COOKS AND MAIDS! SUPER HEROES BUTTEFLYS! WE EVEN PLAY SURADES! AND IF THATS NOT YOUR CUP OF TEA PLEASE GO THE ■■■■ AWAY CU'Z WE'RE NEO NEW ZEALAND! AND WE ARE HERE TO STAAAAYEEE!!

*fireworks go off*