Omniglot forum • View topic - Have you ever traveled to another country?

ILuvEire · **Posted:** Tue 28 Apr 2009 8:12 am

I live a short bit from the Mexican border, so we go across all the time. I shop with the natives, instead of with the tourists where they are swindled.

I've also been to Canada, which isn't a long plane trip from Tejas.

Talib · Joined:Sun 19 Apr 2009 8:22 am Posts:768 Location: Canada

Sobekhotep wrote:

When I (and probably many others) see those 3 initials I immediately think of Dance Dance Revolution.

I would too, because it's normally called the GDR, or German Democratic Republic (ironically given that it was neither democratic nor a republic). It took me a little while to figure out that the "D" referred to Deutsche.

Quote:

It really irks me when people call it "Holland" instead of "the Netherlands". :twisted:

Me too somewhat, but I've found people from there tend to call it Holland in English, which I find odd given that its native name is Nederland.

sokuban · Joined:Fri 17 Apr 2009 4:49 pm Posts:110

What's the problem with "Holland"? Sure, if someone uses it to refer to the Netherlands as a country it is wrong, but "I went to Holland" is fine in most cases is it not?

Declan · Joined:Sun 19 Apr 2009 6:51 am Posts:122

Sobekhotep wrote:

It really irks me when people call it "Holland" instead of "the Netherlands". :twisted:

I prefer Holland to the Netherlands.

Glas · Joined:Sun 19 Apr 2009 12:41 am Posts:10 Location: Cymru

I live very close to England so I often pop over for a while

Strange how often I forget that I'm actually going into another country, yet I'm always lecturing others on it. Oops.
I've only ever lived in Wales, but I've been to Ireland, the Isle of Mann, Cornwall, France and Belgium. (Does Jersey count as another country? I have no idea.)

SamD · Joined:Sun 19 Apr 2009 2:09 am Posts:19

So many countries, so little time and money.

I'm from the USA, and I've been to Canada (including both anglophone and francophone areas) and Mexico as well as several European countries.

Sobekhotep · **Posted:** Tue 28 Apr 2009 10:34 pm

Neqitan wrote:

students of Spanish (and sometimes heritage speakers) seem to try to translate English "the Netherlands" to something like Neerlandia or similar, which is utterly wrong (it's either Holanda or Países Bajos (the latter a calque from "Netherlands")).

In Portuguese, Neerlândia is an alternate term, although Países Baixos & Holanda are the most widely used names. Interestingly, although the nation is almost never called Neerlândia, the language is often called neerlandês & the people neerlandeses.

ILuvEire wrote:

I live a short bit from the Mexican border, so we go across all the time.

Not anymore, you won't be going! Not with that swine flu!

sokuban wrote:

"I went to Holland" is fine in most cases is it not?

Sure. I guess it's like saying "I went to England" instead of "I went to the United Kingdom".

Declan wrote:

I prefer Holland to the Netherlands.

But Holland is just one part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Glas wrote:

Does Jersey count as another country?

What do their passports say?

Neqitan · Joined:Fri 17 Apr 2009 9:59 pm Posts:397 Location: Canada

ElfoEscuro wrote:

the language is often called neerlandês & the people neerlandeses.

Same with Spanish. :lol:

Neerlandés - Neerlandeses.

ILuvEire · **Posted:** Wed 29 Apr 2009 2:04 am

sokuban wrote:

What's the problem with "Holland"? Sure, if someone uses it to refer to the Netherlands as a country it is wrong, but "I went to Holland" is fine in most cases is it not?

It's a town in Michigan, and a popular vacation spot! I was very impressed by the absence of Dutch accents in all the people interviewed!

sokuban · Joined:Fri 17 Apr 2009 4:49 pm Posts:110

Sobekhotep wrote:

sokuban wrote:

"I went to Holland" is fine in most cases is it not?

Sure. I guess it's like saying "I went to England" instead of "I went to the United Kingdom".

Which brings up another point. Who actually says "I went to the United Kingdom"? Not many people; maybe "I went to the UK" is used a little, but I find the common names of the countries are used a lot more—at least around here.