The Sex of a Country

I was just wondering what contributes to which sex they refer to their country as.

The Unites States of America as well as most other countries are refered to in the female as in God Bless America, but some have been considered male such as Germany's reference to the "fatherland"

Good question.

Theres also Mother Russia. I guess it's tradition which plays it's part in how ones own nation is refered to.

Speaking of how I personally perceive, or would describe, the countries I've spent my life living between - Australia and England - I would obviously think of Britain as feminine (thanks to Britannia) and Australia as neutral as it is not steeped in that kind of tradition.

We Canadians are the Little Brother to the United States.

We don't go anywhere without you first and do not even think about making a major decision on anything without consulting. Oh yeah, and you guys are more than capable of making decisions for us aswell.

Maybe were the poor husband in this relationship?

It is an interesting topic, one I've honetly never thought of.


When it comes to America, I think we generally refer to it in the
feminine because we(atleast we're suppose to) stand for liberty,
and the statue of liberty is a woman.


I know Japan is sometimes reffered to in the maculine,
also being called the fatherland.

Originally posted by chissler
We Canadians are the Little Brother to the United States.

We don't go anywhere without you first and do not even think about making a major decision on anything without consulting. Oh yeah, and you guys are more than capable of making decisions for us aswell.

Um, sorry to disagree but look at the international conflicts in the past 100 years and you'll see that we went first. The US wasn't an issue to us until the 1980's when Mulroney sold us below the border.

Maybe were the poor husband in this relationship?

Only lately.

The sex of Canada? We are sort of like a goth chick with a knife that can be whipped out when necessary.

Originally posted by intrepid
The sex of Canada? We are sort of like a goth chick with a knife that can be whipped out when necessary.

ROFL.
Man that's the funniest thing I've read this month.

If I could vote for you, you'd be getting a WATS vote
from me.

Originally posted by iori_komei

Originally posted by intrepid
The sex of Canada? We are sort of like a goth chick with a knife that can be whipped out when necessary.

ROFL.
Man that's the funniest thing I've read this month.

If I could vote for you, you'd be getting a WATS vote
from me.

Same with me OMG...that's hilarious

Another reason the US is referred to as a femine enity is because of how feritle the land is with the trees, food, wheat, etc.

Also america is a feminine name. England would be considered more masculine. Canada is feminine also. And to the earlier poster,if we are canada's big brother,then we look at canada as the little bro that's better than us at a lot of things,but passively rubs it in our face.

I guess so, man, Now you got me thinking of a few dumb "Futurama" jokes on the subject. They deal with that on that dumb animated sitcom for some reason. But anyway. I wonder like if China's masculine, India's femine, what would Thailand be?

Originally posted by usaforever
But anyway. I wonder like if China's masculine, India's femine, what would Thailand be?

China, well I don't know, but India is a hermaphrodite and
Thailand is a 14 year old prostitute boy that says "Me love
you long time.".

They all have cool temples and masions through.

What would Greenland be, if it's Iceland?

I know Antarctica is a hermphrodite heshe

I don't like those jokes. Some of them are mean.

To the French, we are Les Etates Unis, which is masculine. To the Spanish, we are "Los estados Unidos" which is masculine. This leads me to believe that we are masculine here in the USA.
China- La China= femenine
Russia- La Rusia= femenine
El Salvador- masculine
La Habana, Cuba= femenine
Inglaterra (England) =femenine
Jamaica- femenine
Italia (italy) femenine

Anyway, those are some examples translated from Spanish and French.

I've always had a question, though, maybe someone could answer it here: We call it Germany here. In Spanish, its Alemania, in French its Alemania, there's ALegheney airlines, why do we call it "Germany"?? What do the Germans call it?

I think that Great britain can be considered feminine as the name comes from the Roman Godess "Brittania" I don't know what sex England on its own would be considered though.

en.wikipedia.org...

There was a celtic goddess called Brigid who is one of the many sources of the personification of Britain. The Emperor Claudius paid a visit while Britain was being pacified and was honoured with the agnomen Britannicus as if he were the conqueror, but Britannia remained a place, not a female personification of the land, until she appeared on coins issued under Hadrian[1], which introduced a female figure labelled BRITANNIA.

Typical of the Romans, Britannia was soon personified as a goddess. Early portraits of the goddess depict Britannia as a beautiful young woman, wearing the helmet of a Centurion, and wrapped in a white toga with her right breast exposed. She is usually shown seated on a rock, holding a spear, and with a spiked shield propped beside her. Sometimes she holds a standard and leans on the shield. On another range of coinage, she is seated on a globe above waves: Britain at the edge of the 'known' world. Similar coin types were also issued under Antoninus Pius

Originally posted by djohnsto77
...., but some have been considered male such as Germany's reference to the "fatherland"

Both "Vaterland" (Fatherland) and "Deutschland" (Germany) are grammatically and semantically neuter, because they refer to the land, and "Land" is neuter in germany. It simply means "the land of the fathers/germans" - this is different from lets say "Motherland Russia", where the land actually IS considered the "mother".

Originally posted by dgtempe
...
I've always had a question, though, maybe someone could answer it here: We call it Germany here. In Spanish, its Alemania, in French its Alemania, there's ALegheney airlines, why do we call it "Germany"?? What do the Germans call it?

Germans call Germany "Deutschland", and themselves "Deutsch".

You call it "Germany" ... because you do it wrong. "Alemania" and all its forms are wrong too... basically every name that does not involve a naturalized version of "Deutsch(-land)" is wrong. The Italians for example incorrectly call Deutschland "Germania", but its people correctly as "tedesci".

"Germany" is a reference to the germanic tribes that inhabited the better part of Europe... for example, a good part of the english population is of "germanic" origin, too. So, while every ethnic "Deutscher" is also a german, not every ethnic german is "Deutsch". Look up old maps of the spread of the germanic tribes and you will see what I mean.

"Alemania" and its forms are a reference to the "Alamanni", a southern germanic people most active from 200-700. The flaw in this is obvious... you wouldnt call an US american "Texan" either, just because Texas is part of the USA.

"Deutsch" goes back to the old high german word "diutisc" and means "a member of the people", or "someone who speaks the language", and only this word means the people that nowadays go by the name of "Germans" or "Allemands" in other parts of the world.

BTW, "Teutons" and "teutonic", words keenly used to reference the "Germans", have nothing to do with modern (1850+) Germany at all, they were a Danish tribe. But that misconception is understandable because even the Romans used these phrases in reference to the peoples in nowaday´s Germany... and later even the Nazis.

Thank you very much for that explanation!!! Lonestar. I always wondered why the German- Alemania thing was going on. You clarified it perfectly for me.
I'm ashamed to admit i had no idea but always wondered. Just one of those things.

What about Island countries in Africa and South America?

Originally posted by usaforever
What about Island countries in Africa and South America?

Africa is sometimes referred to as "The Motherland" South America?