German is not a language of Western Europe, but of Central Europe.
Get your geographic facts right.
Get your geographic facts right.
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What Languge best represents Western Europe?
German is not a language of Western Europe, but of Central Europe.
Get your geographic facts right.
I was simply dividing Europe between east and west. When we speak of western civilization, Germany is included.
*When we speak of western civilization, Germany is included.*
Russia is included too.
it depends how you regard the Europe's map. If you considered Europe everything but Russia , then Germany might be considered in the center of the continent. If you saw Europe up to the Ural's region, then Germany is in west and Slovakia, Hungary & Romania are central!
Culturaly speaking, Germany belongs to the western part of the Europe and this is what the main question refferes to.
<< Culturaly speaking, Germany belongs to the western part of the Europe and this is what the main question refferes to. >>
Yes, thank you.
Ignorance arises quite often when people in Europe consider Spain or Portugal as part of Africa or people in the USA consider Spain or Portugal part of Central or South America.
They obviously are the westernmost parts of Europe. To start with quite a few Roman emperors were born in Hispania. Hispania is the Latin word for the Iberian Peninsula so why should Central and South Americans be called Hispanics? I think it's got to do with some kind of old political agenda which has been assumed. Why are they called Afro-Americans and the ones from European stock are just called Americans in the USA?
<< Why are they called Afro-Americans and the ones from European stock are just called Americans in the USA? >>
Good point. I think the same way. Those with Euro ancestry should be called European-Americans. Every white person in the US is aware of their eithnic European background to some extent, but generic words like "White" or "Caucasian" (which I don't like) have become the standard, I guess because they are not a minority ethnic group. I say give everyone in the US their appropriate ethnic reference, or else call everyone simply American.
<<call everyone simply American<<
This is the best solution. <<people in Europe consider Spain or Portugal as part of Africa<< Who the hell does that?
"Seeing that the Franks were a Germanic people, how could there not be some Germanic infuence? "
French and Franks are not the same people ! The french are not more descending of the franks than the Italians are from the ostrogoths or Lombards, nor the Spanish are from the Vandals or wisigoths... So I don't see one reason from french having had more germanic influence than, say Italian or Spanish.
"I say give everyone in the US their appropriate ethnic reference, or else call everyone simply American." mac
Interesting point. I prefer just having "American" as a category too.
"American" is what we call ourselves in the USA. This USA person stuff is nonsense. Yes, we are all from the Americas, but we've had independence from England for a long time and we've been known as "Americans" around the world for a long time. Should Mexicans be EUdM people, for example?
No, but you can't deny it IS a source of confusion. I recently had a conversation with a South American about 'Americans'. And only after 5 minutes of conversation and confusion did we realise we were discussing two completely different things, "USA Americans" and "people of the Americas".
<< "Seeing that the Franks were a Germanic people, how could there not be some Germanic infuence? "
French and Franks are not the same people ! The french are not more descending of the franks than the Italians are from the ostrogoths or Lombards, nor the Spanish are from the Vandals or wisigoths... So I don't see one reason from french having had more germanic influence than, say Italian or Spanish. >> I thought that French was known to have had more Germanic influence than the other Romanace languages. Am I wrong? I guess I'm still confused as to what "French" is. In the Latin - German - Celt ethnic spectrum, where is the typical French person? |