THE ORIGINS OF PLACE NAMES HOW DID DIFFERENT

THE ORIGINS OF PLACE NAMES HOW DID DIFFERENT PLACES IN THE WORLD GET THEIR NAMES?

ETYMOLOGY • ET • Ti • Mol • Lo • Gy • Is the study of where words come from

MEDITERRANEAN SEA

MANY PLACE NAMES COME FROM LATIN • mediterraneus, meaning "inland" or "in the middle of land" • Medius - "middle" • Terra - "land” • They called this the sea in the middle of the land

ATLANTIC OCEAN

“SEA OF ATLANTIS” • The name comes from two possible sources • The Sea of Atlantis –From the lost civilization of Atlantis • The name could also refer to Atlas –The titan in Greek mythology who is holding up the world

INDIAN OCEAN

THE WATER SURROUNDS INDIA • India is the biggest country near the Indian Ocean • Early map makers thought very well of India. – For hundreds of years Europeans tried to find new ways to get to India – To trade for spices and exotic goods

WEST INDIES • Refers to the islands in the Caribbean sea • Columbus reached them in 1492

WEST INDIES • Columbus reached these Islands and thought he had reached India so he named the Islands the West Indies • The term East Indies referred to the islands already found in Asia near India

EAST SEA/ SEA OF JAPAN • Korea and Japan have a long dispute over the naming of their shared sea

KOREAN VIEW • To Koreans the place is called the East Sea – There is a lot of anger against Japan because of their war crimes before and during WWII • hundreds of thousands of men were forced to work in factories, mines, • and 200, 000 women sent to work as camp followers. • Today Japan is trying to take the Island of Dokdo from Korean possession

JAPANESE VIEW • To the Japanese and most of the world the place is called the Sea of Japan – This is the name of most maps in the world – This issue has not been solved.

PACIFIC OCEAN • Ferdinand Magellan who sailed around South America reached water that was super calm and had little waves • He called it the Pacific Ocean • Pacific means peaceful sea • He had no idea that it was the largest body of water in the world • It is bigger than all of the land on earth put together

ATHENS • The Greek gods Athena and Poseidon had a challenge to see who would get the newest great city in Greece • They each gave a gift to the people of this new city • Poseidon gave them a salt water spring • Athena gave them the olive tree • Athena was chosen as the winner and the city was named after her

AMERICA • Amerigo Vespucci did not find America, but his early Map was quite good and people used his name for the land • Amerigo’s land– America • He was the first person to prove that the land found by Columbus was actually an entirely new land.

PITTSBURG, CA • Originally settled in 1839, this town was first called ‘New York Landing’ and ‘Black Diamond’ • The name was changed to Pittsburg because of a vote by the people of the town. • They believed their town shared the same steel/mining industry and spirit as Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

ASSIGNMENT • In your groups use your phones and search for the origin or etymology of another place in the world. • Your group has 5 -10 minutes to gather your information. • One member is responsible for writing the key information • Another member will be responsible for sharing their findings with the class