What do countries call themselves? The stories behind their original names | Arts and Culture News

There are more than 7000 Languages Speak all over the world across nearly 200 countries.
This vast linguistic diversity affects how countries indicate themselves, as many use names in their original languages, which are different from their well -known English publications.
Every year, on February 21, the United Nations notes the International Mother Language Day to enhance “preserving all languages spoken by the peoples of the world.”
This date represents a historic event in 1952 when students in Dhaka protested the recognition of Bengali as an official language in eastern Pakistan, now Bangladesh. Four students were killed, which led to mass protests that eventually confessed to Bengali as an official language in 1956.
In the following visible explanation, the island is planning the names and meanings of countries around the world.
Africa: from Egypt to Egypt to Mazansi to South Africa
The African continent, which is speaking approximately 3000 languages in 54 countries, is one of the most linguistic diverse regions in world.
Many of the names of African countries are rooted in colonial history, along with others, who are the influence of Portuguese and Arab traders and exporters.
EgyptOne of the oldest countries in Africa, calls itself MASR in Arabic, which is believed to come from the word “mizraim”, referring to the name of the ancient civilization of the region, which also believes it means “borders” or “port”.
Liberia Its name is derived from the Liberal word “Liber”, which means “free”, which reflects the establishment of the country by American slaves of African origin edited in the twenties of the twentieth century.
in South AfricaMZANSI is widely used to refer to the country informally and affectionate. The term stems from the word “umzansi”, which means “the south.”

Asia: “Middle Kingdom” and “The Origin of the Sun”
Asia, home to about 4.8 billion people, is a linguistic center with more than 2300 Languages I spoke all over the world the world’s largest continent.
English name for China It is believed that he grew up from Chen (or chin) Strain. However, inside China, the country is called “Zhongguo”, which translates into the “Central Kingdom” or “Central Country”, which reflects the traditional Chinese view of China as a civilization center.
in IndiaThe country is often called spices, a Sanskrit term found in the Bible dating back about 2000 years. Another name for the country is Hindustan, and this means “the land of Hindus” in Urdu language. The English name of India comes from the Indus River, and it is a major advantage in ancient Indian civilization.
In Japanese, Japan Nihon or Nipon is called. The name comes from the characters of “Ni” that means “Sun” and “Hon” means “origin”, so it translates Nihon or Nippon into “Origin of the Sun”. This refers to the position of Japan to eastern China, where the sun rises, the source of the country’s “emerging sun” title.

Europe: Shqiperi for Albania, Hungary for Hungary
Europe, which includes more than 40 countries and many languages, contains mostly different names than those we know in English, with many of them greatly different.
AlbaniaFor example, it is known as Shqiperi in Albanian. The name comes from the word “Shqiptar”, which means a albanian person, and it is believed to indicate a clear or understandable speaking. Some also link it to “Shqiponje”, the word “Eagle”, which is the country’s national symbol.
Hungary Magyarorszag is called the Hungarian language. The name “Magyar” refers to the Hungarian people and “ORSZAG” means “the country” together, Magyarorszag means “Magyars Land”. The name “Hungary” comes in English from the Latin Hungaria, which the Romans used to refer to the region.
Ukraine The name comes from the ancient Slavic word “Okryena”, which means “Borderland” or “region”, which reflects its historical location on the borders of the different empires and kingdoms.

North and Central America: “Low Sea” and “Place of Mexico”
Like Africa, the majority of the country’s names in North and Central America were affected by the colonial powers, in the first place from Spain, the United Kingdom, France and Portugal.
Paham IslandsFor example, the first place where Christopher Columbus, Italian explorer and navigation was the “land called” in the Spanish crown, according to Gilder Lehman Institute for American History. Columbus initially named San Salvador Island, which is believed to be one of the islands in the current Bahamas. The region was later renamed the name of the Bahamas, derived from the Spanish “Baja Mar”, meaning “the low sea”.
Similarly, Costa RicaIn the Spanish “rich coast” sense, it was believed to have been named by Christopher Columbus when he reached the shores of the country in 1502, probably due to the abundance of gold and other resources he faced there.
the name Mexico It comes from the word nahuatl mexihco, which referred to the heart of the Aztec Empire around its capital, Tenochtitlan, now Mexico City. In the sense of “Mexico’s Place” and named after the Aztec people, it reflects the original deep Mexico heritage, before the Spanish influence for a long time.

Oceania: Oceanoa for New Zealand, “The South” for Tonga
Oceania consists of fourteen countries, many of which still use their original names in English, although the satire may differ.
Australia It was called the name of the Latin word “Australia”, which means “the south”, which reflects its position in the southern hemisphere. The name was circulated by the English explorer Matthew Flinders, which he used in reference to the ground block when he wandered around the continent in the early nineteenth century. Before that, the continent was often referred to as “New Netherlands” by European explorers.
In the original Maori language, New Zealand It is called Aotearoa. The name, which is often translated as “the Long White Cloud Land”, is widely used, along with New Zealand and is of strong cultural importance to the Maori people.
the name TongaDerived from the original Tonga language, meaning “south” or “southern” and is believed to reflect the position of the island of the nation in the South Pacific. The full name, the Kingdom of Tonga, refers to the islands itself, south of other Pacific Islands such as Fiji and Samoa.

South America: “Water Land”
Once a home for more than a thousand languages and close to nearly a hundred linguistic families, according to L. Bretanica EncyclopediaToday, between 200 and 400 languages across the twelve countries in South America.
The continent contains more than a quarter of the world’s fresh water resources, and many of its country’s original names are rooted in the water.
GuynaFor example, it was the only country in South America with the English language as an official language, named after the original word “Guiana”, which is believed to mean “water land”.
Similarly, ParaguayShe got her name from the word Guarani “PAR” the meaning of the river, and “Guaei”, meaning “this side”, while Uruguay takes its name after the Uruguay River, which also believes that it came from Ghawrani for the “river of painted birds” or In another version of the “Drinking Snails”.
Venezuela The name comes from Italian “Venezola”, meaning “small gun”. The Spanish explorers called it a vision of residential houses from the indigenous people along Maraacaibo Lake, which resembles those in Venice, Italy.

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2025-02-21 07:40:00