Where is Poland?

[Mechanicalsalvation]

Because there are obvious negative connotations associated with being in eastern Europe?

You mean like the one when eastern Europeans put first artificial Earth satellite and man in the space?

Central European countries are often slavic but not eastern orthodox Christian. They use latinic alphabet not cyrillic.

 

[cardgame]

Russia is a class all its own.

 

[Mechanicalsalvation]

Russia is a class all its own.

Its not just Russia which fits the description but also Ukraine, Bulgaria, Serbia, White Russia, Moldova, Macedonia and others.

 

[gozpel]

North Pole to the north-Polish people, they demand it NOW!

 

[Ailedhoo]

Maybe we would not be confussed where Poland is if you all had invested in Eastern Poland.

 

[salty mud]

Because there are obvious negative connotations associated with being in eastern Europe?

Show me a map showing how you divide up Europe into separate geographic regions. How many geographic divisors are there? Northern, Western, Southern, Eastern, Central... people always say "of course Poland is in Central Europe!" but never give any examples of other countries in Central Europe, why Poland is ostensibly considered part of Central Europe, or how they divide up Europe into geographic regions in general.

... because Poland is in the centre of Europe. I can't understand why you're having such difficulty grasping a simple concept.

 

[cardgame]

... because Poland is in the centre of Europe. I can't understand why you're having such difficulty grasping a simple concept.

By that metric, are you a proponent of Ohio being recognized as Midwestern?

 

[Dachs]

... because Poland is in the centre of Europe. I can't understand why you're having such difficulty grasping a simple concept.

"Zhongguo" is already taken, boss.

 

[cardgame]

I'm not sure what China has to do with anything

 

[Dachs]

I'm not sure what China has to do with anything

Zhōngguó (中&#22283 - China, lit. "central state"; sometimes translated as "Middle Kingdom"

cf. tianxia (天&#19979

 

[Domen]

If a group of ugly racists all claim they're not ugly racists, does that suddenly make them beautiful romantics?

So now we learn that Central Europeans (Germans?) are not and never were ugly racists, but beautiful romantics?

BTW - everyone knows that Poland is in North Africa. Song of the Polish Revolution:


Link to video.

Zhōngguó (中&#22283 - China, lit. "central state"; sometimes translated as "Middle Kingdom"

"Lechistan" - Poland, lit. "state of Lech":

Spoiler :

... because Poland is in the centre of Europe. I can't understand why you're having such difficulty grasping a simple concept.

They have such difficulty grasping this concept because they forget that the eastern border of Europe is in the Ural Mountains:

Spoiler :

The border between Europe and Asia in the Ural Mountains:

Spoiler :

BTW - the geographical centre of Europe is in this town (according to one of several theories at least):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suchowola

people always say "of course Poland is in Central Europe!" but never give any examples of other countries in Central Europe

Google is really powerful - don't be afraid to use it!

Other countries in Central Europe are:

- Germany
- Hungary
- Czech Republic
- Slovakia
- Austria
- Switzerland
- Liechtenstein

Sometimes also:

- Slovenia

Source:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Europe

there are obvious negative connotations associated with being in eastern Europe?

What are they?

Slavic languages constitute Eastern Europe.

No - Slavic languages are widespread in Eastern, Southeast and Central Europe:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southeast_Europe

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Slavs

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Slavs

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Slavs

Recently Slavic language is also widespread on the British Isles (so British Isles are now in Eastern instead of Northwestern Europe?).

 

[Domen]

Show me a map showing how you divide up Europe into separate geographic regions. How many geographic divisors are there? Northern, Western, Southern, Eastern, Central...

Northwestern(1), Southwestern(2), Western(3), Central(4), Southern(5), Northern(6), Northeastern(7), Southeastern(8), Eastern.(9)

(1) British Isles, Iceland, western areas of Norway
(2) Iberian Peninsula, Balearic Islands
(3) France and the Low Countries, maybe western part of Germany
(4) already mentioned (Germany, Poland, Hungary, Czech state, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, etc.)
(5) Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, Malta
(6) Sweden, Denmark, eastern parts of Norway
(7) Finland, Baltic states, northern part of Russia
(8) Balkan region, Greece, Romania, European part of Turkey
(9) Ukraine, Belarus, most of Russia, western part of Kazakhstan

 

[Camikaze]

I don't quite get the claim that Poland isn't in Eastern Europe, because it seems to be a matter of language. In Australian English, the term 'Eastern Europe' encompasses Poland. To claim otherwise is to claim that you know Australian English better than those that speak it. I believe the same holds for American and the Queen's English. That it's not a geographic term should be plain enough from the fact that Finland is in Western Europe.

 

[Domen]

(...) it seems to be a matter of language. (...) That it's not a geographic term should be plain enough from the fact that Finland is in Western Europe.

Suomi (Finnish) language is a Western European language... ??? I have never heard anything more ridiculous...

Suomi (Finnish) language belongs to the family of Uralic languages. This should say for itself...

If you classify Finnish as Western European language, then all of Uralic languages should be classified like this.

And this - in turn - would mean that territories of Nenets and Komi people (nomadic tribes from Siberia) are in Western Europe...

The Uralic languages (Hungarian and Estonian as well belong to this family - so Estonia and Hungary are too in Western Europe?):

 

[JohannaK]

Nonononono. camikaze is saying that the term Western Europe in English encompasses Finland, whereas the term Eastern Europe encompasses Poland. That's what I think he meant anyway, but certainly not talking about the languages spoken but the signification of the term in these.

 

[Borachio]

Ah, but Linguistically, Finland is only tied with Hungary, eh? While England would have close ties with both Germany and France.

I think Finland belongs politically with the West, in the same way Australia, and Poland, do.

I quite like your geographical division of Europe - it does have some merit. Though if you're going to include West Germany with France into Western Europe, I don't see why you wouldn't include England in it too.

 

[Domen]

So you have some silly, arbitrary terms in your languages (what are the criteria of division?).

Hungary is located more towards the geographical west of Europe than Finland.

Though if you're going to include West Germany with France into Western Europe, I don't see why you wouldn't include England in it too.

Why should I? Historically there were significant differences (political, social, cultural) between England and continental Western Europe.

 

[Borachio]

I give in. I think you're right: it is all pretty much arbitrary.

Would you care to offer a definition of Europe?

 

[Camikaze]

Yeah, what JoanK said. I'm saying that 'Western Europe' and 'Eastern Europe' are English terms with specific meanings. Poland falls into the latter, not the former, as a matter of definition. Questioning whether these English terms are at all useful for any particular purpose is a different discussion to questioning whether that's what those terms actually mean in the English language. This Western/Eastern divide is largely based on the Iron Curtain, and though that may now not be an entirely relevant dividing line, the terms themselves have not changed.

Though, Poland is noticeably more Latvia than Germany or Finland, for instance.

 

[Dachs]

I give in. I think you're right: it is all pretty much arbitrary.

So since it's arbitrary either way, what makes the classification of Poland as being in Eastern Europe wrong?