English is strange and fairly unique in that the English (for some reason) give names to other countries and cities which the people in those countries don't use themselves.
The French call Deutschland "Allemagne"... I don't think this is unusual or particular to the English.
I think english is worse. Apart from France and maybe Italy, I can't immediately think of any non-English speaking countries which call themselves the english equivalent.
I believe Indonesia calls itself "Indonesia" (and they call "Australia" "Australi").
The Polish word for "German" translates literally as "dumb" (as in "unable to speak"); this is presumably because of the linguistic difference between German and Polish and its Slavic neighbours.
For what it's worth, Australia is "An Astrail" in Gaelic.
Frequently Unanswered Questions?
Mmm, FUQs.
But don't forget, Indonesia is a modern creation. The locals there probably think of themselves equally as Javanese etc. as Indonesian.
Japan (Yapan, if transcribing Dutch for English speakers) is most probably coming from Dutch
(Dutch were the only Europeans who were allowed to enter Japan when it was closed
for I don't remember how many centuries)
The word itself is probably borrowed from Chinese...
And regarding calling other countries in English, that's English phonetics/spelling that makes things hard. E.g. Netherlands and Belgium are
"Nederland" and "Belgie" in Dutch/Flemish.
(Belgium is just Latin, I think)
Hello All, the following post was taken from:
www.metafilter.com/mefi/30027
There are several Japanese SAQ threads here. Enjoy!
Q. I have long wondered why Japan is called 'Japan' in English. A. The word Japan probably comes from Portuguese or Dutch. Sailors, traders and missionaries from Portugal were the first westerners to visit Japan and they were already calling the country 'Zipangu' or "Jipangu" because they had heard the country called 'Jihpenkuo' in northern China. Another theory is that the word comes from the Dutch word "Japan", which is taken from "Yatpun", the name for Japan which is used in southern China. ...
Q. What is the difference between Japan's two names, "Nippon" and "Nihon"? A. "Nihon" and "Nippon" are just different pronunciations of the same word, which means "the place from which the sun rises". The name was given to the country by the famous Prince Shotoku in the early seventh century.
Yes, but Jihpen(kuo), Yatpun, and Nihon/Nippon are all the same word, wri