Re: OT: Renaming the continents

Tim May wrote:
>
> Padraic Brown writes:
>  > --- Tim May <butsuri@...> wrote:
>  >
>  > > Well, I'm not trying to be antiEuropean.  I
>  > > think plenty of Europeans
>  > > would consider "America", at least, to be ill
>  > > chosen, if in full
>  > > posession of the facts.
>  >
>  > What facts would change their minds? To me, it's
>  > just a name. Like Vinland or Hy Brasil.
>  >
> Well, of course, it's just a name, and it's as well not to get caught
> up on it.  But America's named that because Waldseemüller put it on
> his map, having read Amerigo Vespucci's account of his travels to the
> new world, but not Columbus's.  Waldseemüller thought better of it
> himself, and removed the name in later editions, but by that time it
> had become popular.
>
> It seems to me that Vespucci was a fairly minor figure, and if you're
> going to name the continent after a European explorer at all, it
> should have been Columbus.  (And it probably would have been, if he
> hadn't insisted it was Asia.)  Ideally, I'd prefer a native
> derivation*, or some kind of neutral description.
>
>  > Ah, I see. In that case, I as an American would
>  > opt to keep the names as are. Now, were I Asian
>  > and of the right mindset, I might choose
>  > different names - at least for domestic use.
>
> I can't see any inherent reason to favour the name America.  Of
> course, you don't want to change it in real life.  The costs would be
> enormous, for no tangible benefit at all!  But I'm not proposing
> changes to be actually adopted, just thinking about ideals divorced
> from practical concerns associated with making a change.
>
> As for the rest, the only serious problem is Eurasia.  Europe just
> isn't a continent in the same way that the others are, so "continent"
> has to be awkwardly defined in such a way as to include it (in
> English, at least).  Europe is a region which can be defined
> physically or culturally, and it's a useful term, but I don't see any
> good reason to include it in a set with Africa, Antarctica etc.  And
> Asia doesn't seem to have any defining characteristics apart from
> being the land that's east of Europe.  So I'd rather have a name for
> Eurasia, and subdivide it into a number of sections, including Europe,
> and probably the Indian subcontinent, China, etc.
>
> *  Which natives to take it from, of course, is a difficult problem in
>    itself.  But first I want to find out if _any_ natives had an
>    applicable term, before I start deciding which to use, if any.
Turtle Island. From the Iroqouis creation myth. They were aware that
they were living on a large island and this is what they called it. This
from the myth, where a turtle dove down to the bottom of the sea and
brought up land for the people to live on. Or, in another version where
the people lived on the back of the turtle itself. What are the actual
words from the Iroquois languages? Sorry can't help you.  :(

-Duke