Re: OT: Renaming the continents

--- Tim May <butsuri@...> wrote:

> Ideally, I'd prefer a native derivation*,
That still wonders me.

> or some kind of neutral description.
"New World"?

> I can't see any inherent reason to favour the
> name America.
You asked for a name - not an inherent reason for
it! Or even a coherent or logical one. Or even an
illogical one.

> 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.
"CONTINENTAL LANDMASS #4A"

Totally divorced from politics. With a numbering
system based on human migratory patterns; letters
indicate primary/secondary plate types.
Therefore, India is "#2D" because it's part of
"#2A", Asia, but is techtonically independent.

> As for the rest, the only serious problem is
> Eurasia.  Europe just
> isn't a continent in the same way that the
> others are,
But how are the others "continents"? Are you
basing this solely on geology, politics,
cartography, history or what?

If your basis is solely geology, then you need
rather more than 7; if any of the latter, then
"Europe" makes as much sense as any other name.

> 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.
OK. Eurasia with subdivisions. In the number
scheme, Europe is "#3".

> *  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.
You mean a term for "continental landmass" as
opposed to "Earth" or "land"? Or a nebulous term
that could mean "land within a short radius all
the way up to every land on Earth"?

A tall order indeed!

Padraic.


=====
fas peryn omen c' yng ach h-yst yn caleor peryn ndia;
enffoge yn omen ach h-yst yn caleor per la gouitha.




.

Reply