Re: OT: continents

On 19 Mar 2005, at 10.09 am, # 1 wrote:

> Do y'all know where I could find the etymology of the continents'
> names?
>
> Except Oceania, that's obviously derived from ocean, where are the
> other
> names from?
A *continent* called 'Oceania'? 'Ain't no such thing! AFAICT, Oceania
is mostly water and a collection of smallish islands, also including
Australia when misused as a term referring to a continent.

The continents' etymologies have all been given now though, so I won't
bother repeating anything already said.

(PS: How is this word pronounced? I don't think I've ever heard it
said, only seen it written, and I'm never sure if it's O-she-AN-nia or
o-SHAN-nia or o-SHYAN-nia or O-se-AN-nia or something entirely
different. My unfamiliarity with the term in speech might just be that
I rarely *listen* to the news, but usually 'Australasia' or 'Pacific
islands' are used, as appropriate.)

Also Max, this message was not
  	In-Reply-To: 	<cbb501c8050318132455dd7768@...>
as your headers make it seem. Please don't use the reply function
except to reply.

--
Tristan.