Re: CHAT National toponyms (was: OT Caution!! IRA funding)

On Fri, 17 Sep 2004 09:19:58 +0100, Peter Bleackley
<peter.bleackley@...> wrote:
>
> A Dutch colleague habitually refers to his country as "Holland", in
> preference to "the Netherlands". Whether this is a particularly Southern
> Dutch habit or not, I don't know, but he seems to regard "Holland" as more
> correct.
>
> Pete
>
It's pretty common for many Americans* to call the Netherlands
"Holland". I try to say "The Netherlands" but sometimes habit is hard
to break and "Holland" slips out.

Note: the following is NOT to start an arguement, just something I
find interesting:

*As for "American" people have been calling people of the United
states that for much longer than the current issue of "Why do people
in the United States use "American" to refer to themselves?". Anyway,
Robert Louis Stevenson used "American" to refer to the people of the
United states in the late 1800's as such

From "Across the Plains" in the chapter "Mexicans, Americans and Indians":

" Not even the most Americanised would descend to wear the vile dress
hat of civilisation.  Spanish was the language of the streets.  It was
difficult to get along without a word or two of that language for an
occasion."

(I included that quote only because it's interesting that the
situation with Spanish is switched with English... it's difficult to
get along in Monterey now without a word or two of English, although
you can get by if you speak Spanish... so all is not lost for Spanish
here :))


"Across the Plains" is interesting, especially where it discusses
Monterey in both chapters "The Old Pacific Capital" and "Mexicans,
Americans, and Indians". It's very interesting and his description of
the weather here is still the same.

You can find "The Old Pacific Capital" here:
http://www.bookrags.com/ebooks/614/30.html

And "Mexicans, Americans, and Indians" here:
http://www.bookrags.com/ebooks/614/35.html

--
Listen Johnny;
You're like a mother to the girl you've fallen for,
And you're still falling,
And if they come tonight
You'll roll up tight and take whatever's coming to you next.

Slow Graffitti - Belle and Sebastian

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