Questions tagged [geography]
Questions related to geography.
22 questions
31
votes
5
answers
48k
views
Using the definite article before a country/state name
The Punjab is a rich state.
Is it correct to use the before Punjab?
- 319
14
votes
2
answers
4k
views
Are there any rules governing what we call people from different countries?
people from China = Chinese
people from Japan = Japanese
people from Australia = Australian
people from Lebanon = Lebanese
people from Sweden = Swedish
Are there any rules that govern this?...
- 2,270
8
votes
3
answers
38k
views
How should "Northern Europe" be capitalized?
Europe should obviously be capitalized, since it is a proper noun. Should the northern part of the example sentence "I was traveling through northern Europe." be capitalized?
In country names such as ...
- 3,640
35
votes
15
answers
25k
views
Generic name for places like village, town and cities
There is the German word Ort or Ortschaft which is a hypernym for places where people live like
villages
towns
cities
etc.
Is there a correspondent word in English?
I don't want to use location ...
- 785
21
votes
7
answers
24k
views
Is "the USA" singular or plural?
On the one side, the USA is just one country. Logic says it should be, then, singular, just like the United Kingdom is. Example:
The USA owns this domain.
On the other side, if I however expand "...
- 1,532
16
votes
7
answers
16k
views
When to put "River" before or after its name and why?
Unlike mountain names, where "Mount" always precedes its name, e.g. Mount Everest, I've noticed that some rivers have "River" before its name, e.g. the River Nile but others have it after, e.g. the ...
- 2,141
51
votes
5
answers
98k
views
What is a suitable word to describe a place where two rivers meet?
I've googled for a while and on some sites I've found the word "watershed" as the proposed word. Is it the word that best suits it?
- 583
5
votes
4
answers
2k
views
Up my street and down the lane [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Do I travel “up” or “down” to London from north of the city?
Except where there is obvious difference in elevation e.g. on a sloping road, how do ...
- 2,141
10
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Why do we say "Eastern Europe" but "East Asia"?
My girlfriend, who is not a native English speaker, asked me this yesterday: why are some geographical regions prefixed with the nouns North, South, East and West, but others are prefixed with the ...
- 783
4
votes
10
answers
6k
views
Why does English have city/country names that differ from the local language?
For example:
Italy = Italia
Florence = Firenze
Rome = Roma
Venice = Venezia
Munich = München
Different reasons for different cities? Anglicised for pronunciation? The name changed and English didn'...
- 151
3
votes
2
answers
6k
views
The Southern US, or the southern US? [duplicate]
To my understanding, specific geographic regions are always capitalized.
For example, Southern US is proper because it is a specific region.
However, a co-author argues that southern should not be ...
- 162
3
votes
2
answers
623
views
Do I so often encounter simple past for past participle (e.g., “I have went,” “what was did to her”) because of where I am or when?
Since moving to small-town northern Minnesota (USA) two dozen years back to teach English, I have noticed a lot of instances in spoken language where the simple past is used in lieu of the past ...
- 16.3k
2
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Accepted way to abbreviate cities that have "Saint" in their name
My first question here, so I'm not sure if this OT or not, so please bare with me.
Background: I don't live in US. I'm working with some data that I'm pulling from Adwords. Sometimes, I'm getting a ...
- 121
25
votes
2
answers
26k
views
Meaning of suffix '-sex' in 'Sussex, Middlesex' [closed]
I know that Sussex and Middlesex are in England. It looks to me as if there is a pattern in names.
What does the suffix -sex mean? Where does it come from?
- 365
21
votes
14
answers
4k
views
Word for inlets of a mountain
Can the word inlet be used for mountains, too? I'm looking for a word that describes valleys that reach into the mountain, but don't go across it.
Here is a picture that tries to describe what I'm ...
- 313
13
votes
7
answers
4k
views
How to refer to the "elevated areas" of a mountain?
For example, in the following picture, I see two "elevated areas" (one on the right, and one on the left, at the distance):
The only word that comes to my mind is hill. But I'm not quite sure, since ...
- 13.2k
5
votes
1
answer
479
views
Etymology of "Djibouti"
The country name Djibouti has no etymology listed on both Etymonline and Wiktionary. I do know that's it named after the city for sure, but where did that come from?
I tried to research it, but all I ...
- 1,051
4
votes
5
answers
7k
views
A word to describe the point of land at the confluence of two rivers?
I'm seeking a word that best describes the point of land created by the confluence of two rivers. The parcel of land in question would be situated in between the two rivers as their flow combined to ...
- 49
3
votes
1
answer
974
views
Adjective relating to Great Britain and Ireland
Is there an adjective meaning “from or pertaining to the British Isles” (or if you prefer “from Great Britain, Ireland or surrounding islands”, or “from the Atlantic Archipelago”, or whatever floats ...
3
votes
1
answer
2k
views
What does "water rich area" mean?
I am unsure how to specifically define a water-rich area. I assume that it is an area of water surplus but I am led to believe it has a more specific definition for I have been asked it as a separate ...
- 173
1
vote
3
answers
1k
views
What terms describe who pays for a meal? [closed]
I have heard the terms go dutch and AA used to mean that, when two or more people eat at a restaurant, each will pay only the price of their own dish. Also treat is used to describe the act of one ...
- 2,111
1
vote
1
answer
16k
views
Why do the names of so many places end in -ia? [closed]
Many countries, continents, states, and cities have an English name ending in ‘-ia’:
India, Indonesia, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Asia, Alexandria, Philadelphia, California, …
What is ...
- 302