Re: So it is true...

Jim Heckman wrote:
> On 1-Dec-2005, "Seán O'Leathlóbhair" <jwlawler@xxxxxxxxx>
> wrote in message <1133429997.288238.49370@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>:
>
> > rcaetano wrote:
> >
> > > Seán O'Leathlóbhair wrote:
> > > [snip]
> > > > A Danish friend went a pan-Scandinavian conference once. The
> > > > politically correct instructions said that delegates should speak in
> > > > their own languages. They were struggling even before the Finns
> > > > arrived.
> > >
> > > But what where Finns doing in a pan-Scandinavian conference?
> > >
> > > Rafael Caetano, because the thread is unusually calm
> >
> > Why wouldn't they be there? It wasn't a conference on language.
> > Something to do with government.
> >
> > A google for Scandinavia gives this as the first result:
> > http://www.goscandinavia.com/
>
> Notice that that site is targeted towards North Americans.

So? If it were created by Americans then it may not be so accurate but
it appears to have been created by people from those countries and they
have chosen to come together under the name "Scandinavia". The only
significance of the site is that it was my first hit when I searched
for Scandinavia.

> > Finland is a member of the Nordic Union.
>
> Exactly. In general, people from that part of the world distinguish
> between "Nordic", which includes Finland, and "Scandinavian", which
> doesn't.

Good point, that proves nothing. I have always treated Scandinavia and
Nordic Union as pretty much synonymous so it seemed significant to me.


> As a USAmerican who grew up thinking of "Scandinavia" as referring
> specifically to the Scandinavian peninsula, it took me a while to
> realize that for the natives the term also includes Denmark.
>
> --
> Jim Heckman

Growing up here in the UK and Ireland, I tended to think of Scandinavia
as being Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland and maybe Iceland. The
defining feature was the common flag design. They all have a similar
cross with the vertical bar offset.

I tried some more research and the more I did, the more answers I
found. Some supported your interpretation and some mine. Wikipedia
sums up the confusion nicely: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scandinavia

By the way, have you been to "that part of the world". I have been to
Denmark and Sweden many times. I have also been to Finland, Iceland
and Estonia. I have not yet been to Norway. I have met many people
from that part of the world and see some of them regularly.

I'll do some different research over the weekend. I will call my
sister who has lived in Denmark for the last 25 years. I already
expect to meet a Finnish friend who lives here in England near me.

--
Seán O'Leathlóbhair

.

Relevant Pages

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  • Re: So it is true...
    ... It wasn't a conference on language. ... > have chosen to come together under the name "Scandinavia". ... >> realize that for the natives the term also includes Denmark. ... Jim Heckman ...
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  • Re: Which countries are part of Scandinavia or are Nordic countries?
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  • Re: question
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