Talk:Scandinavia
From the article Nordic countries (I have not written this): "In loose usage, the term Scandinavia is sometimes used as a synonym for Nordic countries. Strictly, however, Scandinavia only includes Sweden, Norway and Denmark. "
This is a very good article: Scandinavian languages
Quoted from http://www.lysator.liu.se/nordic/scn/faq21.html:
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The word "Scandinavia" presents a bit more difficulty. In Nordic languages, the meaning is quite clear:
The Scandinavian peninsula, on the other hand, is usually simply understood as comprising Norway and Sweden, despite the unclear border to the Kola peninsula. The northernmost part of Finland is of course also situated on the Scandinavian peninsula. But in English, alas, there seems to be no standard usage. This is mainly due to the fact that English lacks a simple and clear term for the five countries, and the word "Scandinavia" tends to be used for that purpose instead. The term "Nordic countries", in its current definition, is a rather recent invention, its meaning is still a bit obscure especially to non-Europeans, it's awkward to use and to some people it carries unpleasant connotations of the Aryan "Nordic race". Therefore, you will find that it's quite common to define the word "Scandinavia" in English like this:
On the other hand, it is not uncommon to use the word "Scandinavia" in its more limited definition. An example:
And some encyclopaedias put it like this:
Despite the term being rather clear for the Scandinavians themselves, disputes remain about how the term would be understood and derived in English. If the word is understood as a geographic term, how can then Denmark be included - as most do. If instead it's deduced from the area where the languages are quite similar North-Germanians, should Iceland logically be excluded? |
- Answer to your question "If the word is understood as a geographic term, how can then Denmark be included"
- Because Denmark is a part of Scandinavia, as Scandinavia is defined. Denmark has always been a part of the cultural and political region, and Norway, Denmark and Sweden also have their language in common. For instance, Finnish is a Finno-Ugric language, and entirely unrelated with the Germanic Scandinavian language (in three very similar and mutually intelligible variants: Danish, Norwegian and Swedish).
Scandinavia: Norway, Denmark and Sweden. And just Norway, Denmark and Sweden. From Aschehoug og Gyldendals Store Norske Leksikon (the leading Norwegian encyclopedia): Skandinavia, betegnelse dels for den skandinaviske halvøy, dels for Danmark, Norge og Sverige, helst i historisk sammenheng.
Anon
Yes, in Norwegian. But this is the English language part of the Wikipedia.
--Ruhrjung 17:41, 10 Oct 2003 (UTC)
Scandinavia is Scandinavia, also in English, just like the British Islands are the British Islands. To include non-scandinavian countries is incorrect; they do not belong to the geographical Scandinavia nor to the cultural region. I have mentioned the other term, the Nordic countries which also includes the non-scandinavian countries Finland and Iceland, and this is enough. EOD! Heine
- I have never heard a definition of Scandinavia anywhere else that includes only Norway and Sweden. I would suggest an introduction saying something like "Scandinavia is a region in Northern Europe that includes Denmark, Norway and Sweden. In English the term is sometimes used to describe all of the Nordic countries." That seems a bit more concise than the rather long definition used in the current article, but still points to the Noridc countries as the precise term when including Finland and Iceland.-- Gustavf 13:35, 11 Oct 2003 (UTC)
You must have misunderstand, Gustav. No one says Scandinavia only includes Norway and Sweden. Scandinavia is Norway, Sweden and Denmark. The first paragraph is not written by me, but I think it's correct that the original geographical definition is Norway and Sweden. Scandinavia is named after Skanderna, a mountain range (only) in Sweden/Norway.
I have added a new paragraph (the third) in the article:
"Geographically Scandinavia is the Scandinavian Peninsula which contains Norway and Sweden. The cultural/political region Scandinavia also includes Denmark.
The term the Nordic countries has a different meaning and includes the three Scandinavian countries Norway, Sweden and Denmark plus the non-scandinavian countries Finland and Iceland.
In loose usage, the term Scandinavia is sometimes incorrect used as a synonym for Nordic countries. Strictly, however, Scandinavia only includes Sweden, Norway and Denmark. " Heine