Demonym
Moderator: Staff
Demonym
So, how did you choose yours? We've almost just wrapped up a discussion about it in Uantir, where we'll probably be switching from 'Uantirian' to 'Uantiri.'
I made mine up on the spot, thought it felt a little clunky, expected to get back around to it and never did until the wife brought it up. Rachel likes the sound of it better and until I actually said it aloud I never realized how much better I liked the mouth feel of Uatniri over Uantirian.
I made mine up on the spot, thought it felt a little clunky, expected to get back around to it and never did until the wife brought it up. Rachel likes the sound of it better and until I actually said it aloud I never realized how much better I liked the mouth feel of Uatniri over Uantirian.
His Incomparable Highness,
His Matchless Grace,
His Majestic Honor,
His Eminent Splendor,
His Chivalrous Eminence,
The Rook
Lord Protector of Uantir
His Matchless Grace,
His Majestic Honor,
His Eminent Splendor,
His Chivalrous Eminence,
The Rook
Lord Protector of Uantir
- pawelabrams
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Re: Demonym
Actually, it was Craitman that forced me to make up an English demonym (along with interlandzki in Polish and Interlandski in Interlandian). I had an idea which was bouncing in my head for a few days, but it was just after Craitman added Interlandian to the list when I came up with Interlandic (analogous to Icelandic). So it was a matter of a moment when it was settled (probably as the case with the name of the inventor of the light bulb - two patents were filed one after another, and it was Edison who won in the USA).
Pavel' Abramovic:, the President of Interland
IRL just a random guy from Poland. Still learning English.
IRL just a random guy from Poland. Still learning English.
Re: Demonym
That's an interesting point too, why do you need to make up a Demonym for English? It's always bothered me, the tradition that you have to invent a new way of referring to some place that already has a name for themselves. What benefit is there to calling it Spain instead of Espania or Germany instead of Deuchland? A project I may never get around to is to catalogue all the native name of every nation (micro and macro) and mandate that they be used over the Anglicanized one.
His Incomparable Highness,
His Matchless Grace,
His Majestic Honor,
His Eminent Splendor,
His Chivalrous Eminence,
The Rook
Lord Protector of Uantir
His Matchless Grace,
His Majestic Honor,
His Eminent Splendor,
His Chivalrous Eminence,
The Rook
Lord Protector of Uantir
Re: Demonym
Ours is the same as our actual name, Riverstone.
The honorable president of Riverstone.
Awards (Proof I'm a total failure):
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Awards (Proof I'm a total failure):
(tumbleweed)
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Re: Demonym
Probably due to the inevitable errors when English speakers try to spell those wordsKing Ailin of Uantir wrote:What benefit is there to calling it Spain instead of Espania or Germany instead of Deuchland?
Nah, in all seriousness, the same can be said with any language and the names they call other countries (and their demonyms). Angleterre is the French for England, with Anglais the demonym. It's not as if "England" and "English" are unpronounceable to the French, that's just what those words are in that language. It's not "inventing a new way of referring to a place that has a name for themselves", it's just how words for places have evolved in different languages depending on their origins. I mean, the Hungarian for Hungary is Magyarország, yet most other languages in Europe refer to it with some sort of variant of "Hungary" or "Hungaria"
As for Craitland, ever since its foundation the English version was always "Craitland", with the Craitish (Cräitelandóspul) being "Cräiteland". The demonym "Craitish" was (possibly obviously, considering where I'm from) derived from England/English...
Re: Demonym
Point in fact I wouldn't have to spell them out by sound if they were part of the common vernacular. I'm not ashamed at having misspelled either of those words. It doesn't help that I have no idea how to do a tilde over a letter.Craitman wrote:Probably due to the inevitable errors when English speakers try to spell those words
I thought about Uantish, or Uantirish, but they both sound too much like squash.
His Incomparable Highness,
His Matchless Grace,
His Majestic Honor,
His Eminent Splendor,
His Chivalrous Eminence,
The Rook
Lord Protector of Uantir
His Matchless Grace,
His Majestic Honor,
His Eminent Splendor,
His Chivalrous Eminence,
The Rook
Lord Protector of Uantir
Re: Demonym
Safiria's came from ripping off Russian noun declension and gluing it to Xylphika: «Safiria» became «Safiri» (genitive).
Hâlian, Magic: The Gathering player/baseball and gridiron fan/computer guy/conlinguist and worldbuilder/tabletop and video game fan too
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Re: Demonym
You think you've got problems? Try finding a demonym for A1 We've just accepted that we don't really have one - 'A1 citizen' is what we generally use as a substitute for it.
Re: Demonym
This is a problem that I find it with US Citizen... why the hell calling them "Americans", since I am part of the America (South America) too?Philip Fish wrote:You think you've got problems? Try finding a demonym for A1 We've just accepted that we don't really have one - 'A1 citizen' is what we generally use as a substitute for it.
Juan Teadoir
Seneschal of the Kingdom of Hamland
Duke of Morfaga
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Josaphat
Leader of the Hamland National Party
Former Prime Minister (2007-2011)
Re: Demonym
Because it's the United States of America
Hâlian, Magic: The Gathering player/baseball and gridiron fan/computer guy/conlinguist and worldbuilder/tabletop and video game fan too
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Re: Demonym
Yes, but 'America' is a super-continent (it should really be one continent, but oh well )
Re: Demonym
I find that people from the United States tend to identify more with their state or geographical region than perhaps "American". We always seem to say "I'm from the east coast of the United States", so you're an East Coaster. Same applies for states, I've always introduced myself as someone from Washington - I'm a Washingtonian and more specifically a Seattlite. When visiting Norway, I always say I'm from Seattle in the United States. So, really, I'm a Seattlite. Everybody knows Seattle because of the Space Needle and Starbucks. I don't particularly identify with the West Coast thing, as that is really just another word for Californian. Washington and Oregon are better suited to be called the Pacific Northwest in culture and so on. So, that makes me a Northwesterner. Just like there is no homogeneous "United States Culture", I feel it unfair to have a single demonym.
Hello, my name is Nick and I am from Seattle, I am a Seattlite and a Washingtonian. GO THUNDERHAWKS!! *flails wildly*
Hello, my name is Nick and I am from Seattle, I am a Seattlite and a Washingtonian. GO THUNDERHAWKS!! *flails wildly*
Click to register your team!
Tarjei Einhornsson - Grand Marshal of The Nordic Union
Zand Gozâr - Grand Vizier & Satrap of Kumarastan, Kingdom of Babkha
Tarjei Einhornsson - Grand Marshal of The Nordic Union
Zand Gozâr - Grand Vizier & Satrap of Kumarastan, Kingdom of Babkha
Re: Demonym
Likewise, I always say that I'm from Florida and the Seminole Nation. GO 'NOLES!
Hâlian, Magic: The Gathering player/baseball and gridiron fan/computer guy/conlinguist and worldbuilder/tabletop and video game fan too
- Scott Alexander
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Re: Demonym
I've always disagreed with this "no United States culture" thing. Every country feels this way. A Chinese person would see Szechuan and Shanghai as practically two different worlds. They might even deny there's a single unified Chinese culture at all, with somewhat more justification than their American counterpart - after all, different Chinese regions speak totally different languages and have their own history of centuries of wars with each other. But I have no trouble thinking of both Szechuan and Shanghai as part of a "Chinese culture", because the gulf between either of them and America dwarfs the differences between the two of them.Just like there is no homogeneous "United States Culture", I feel it unfair to have a single demonym.
Likewise, I have a feeling a Chinese person wouldn't find the differences between Seattle and New York sufficient to say that there's no "American" culture. You're all individualist fair-skinned people who don't respect your elders and who eat bread instead of noodles.
Scott Alexander | Autokrator of Archipelago (What is Archipelago?)
Illustrious Founder of the MCS, and sometime Special Cartographer
Illustrious Founder of the MCS, and sometime Special Cartographer
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Re: Demonym
The Australian media, for one, are always making the point that apparently Australia has no culture, which results in the joke:
Q: What's the difference between a slice of cheese and Australia?
A: If you leave a slice of cheese out for 300 years, it develops a bit of culture.
Q: What's the difference between a slice of cheese and Australia?
A: If you leave a slice of cheese out for 300 years, it develops a bit of culture.