hellothere@sh.itjust.works 10 months ago
The short answer is that the name for “old world” countries in a language isn’t translated, it is simply what “we” call “them”, not what “they” call themselves.
Using Greece as an example for English, English has a lot of French influence, which in turn had a lot of Latin influence. It is believed the early Latin (ie modern day Italian) peoples first met Graecians, a tribe likely from Boeotia in modern day Greece, and used the name to refer to all people from the same place.
A more modern or current example would be how people often called The Netherlands, Holland. Same idea, just several millenia apart.
whileloop@lemmy.world 10 months ago
I agree with you, but I think the name Netherlands comes from the land being low.
Nemo@midwest.social 10 months ago
But we call it Holland, even though Holland is just one portion of the whole country.
whileloop@lemmy.world 10 months ago
Please, let me live in a world where Americans call it Netherlands.
-An American who thinks calling it Holland is dumb.
itsnicodegallo@lemm.ee 10 months ago
Yes, it literally means “lowlands”, but that’s it’s actual name used by the people from that country in the primary language of the people from that country.
Holland is just a city in the Netherlands, but people refer to the entire country as “Holland” sometimes.