WIP Map Thread
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Have some of you ever found the way the world is divided into just 6/7 continents a bit impressed with information? What would you think of a division like this one I'm setting up, the "boundaries" are not so defined but in general the division is more or less that, do you think something is more accurate for passing on information? The way how I did the divisions and names is good?
For names, I feel that "Orient" is not a good choice, due to its connection with racist attitudes toward Asian people. It looks like you were trying to find a one-word name for each continent, but in this case "East Asia" might be worth considering.
Have to disagree, Orient is a traditional word used for Eastern Asia, from the Latin for East.
Not using it would be surrendering to pressure groups like those who want the Union Flag banned because it has been appropriated by extremist right wing groups.
I realise this may be a contentious opinion but, is it more racist not to use it?
Judging by your name, you're about as white as I am (pale as snow). There can be the argument made of reclaiming racist terms, but that's a movement that will begin on the account of East Asians, not you or I.
I have never heard an Asian person in Year of Our Lord 2020 use or advocate using "Oriental."
Emperor-of-New-Zealand
Kicked
"Oriental" refers to people, "the Orient" refers to a place. While "Orient" isn't used widely in 2020, it's because it's outdated, not racist. Referring to Asian peoples as "Orientals" on the other hand is largely considered racially insensitive. "Oriental" as a denonym was mostly used during the colonial era and these days seems to be a catch-all term used by the uneducated to refer to anyone Asian.
In any case, when discussing alternate history I don't think it's even worth bringing up, because it's not hard to conceive of a world where such terminology remains in use.
What general principles did you use? Any division is arbitrary in some sense but I want to know how you justify that Europe/Mediterranean split. It's looks kind of by religion, but then religion is ignored in North America in favor of the Rocky Mountains.Have some of you ever found the way the world is divided into just 6/7 continents a bit impressed with information? What would you think of a division like this one I'm setting up, the "boundaries" are not so defined but in general the division is more or less that, do you think something is more accurate for passing on information? The way how I did the divisions and names is good?
Serious question, do you know if these distinctions carry over to other languages? I ask because I also speak Spanish (natively) and I don't want to incurr in any problems with the term.
For example, I have a Korean university professor who refers to herself as a "Persona Oriental" withou any associated stigma.
No it doesn't, each language are different and have a different history of the use of words even when they are similar or come from the same etymology,
Tho going back, I do agree that Orient isn't a good name for that continent, since it's very western-centric I guess, not just from a cultural but simply from a purely geographic perspective
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My personal favorite choice for an East Asia-as-cultural-continent name is "Serica". It was originally a Latin name for just China, but literally means "land of silk", and frankly none of the other continent names are any broader in their origins; "Africa" is after the Afri, a single proto-Amazigh tribe or confederation in what is now Libya, for instance.
Regarding the name Orient, I thought of him as opposed to the use of that word in Portuguese, which is not a derogation, I didn’t know that in English it had this implication, as for other names for East Asia I thought about using Serica or else using Tianxia or Cathay ... the problem is that we have Japan and the Koreas and these names are specifically alternative to China, I believe that Koreans and Japanese would not like to be called by an alternative to the word "Chinese", the name Orient is more neutral in that sense because it refers to everyone in that region; for this reason I try to avoid using the name of current countries, so Laurentia, Pindorama, Hindustan, Nusantara and not America/Canada, Brazil, India, Indonesia
Ah, just to clarify, the reason why central Asia is literally only Asia is that technically that name only referred to this region (together with Anatolia, Arabia and Iran, but details), an alternative would be Turan, but this means that only refers Transoxiana and I wanted to include Siberia (Central) and the Himalayas
Now as far as what I was based was in general the size of the geographic area and topography mixed with the history of it, in order to have a discussion about what would qualify or not, North America was only divided because it would be too big in compared to continents, I thought of two possible divisions, one would be to use the Canadian shield + Greenland and Canadian archipelago separated from the rest, the other would be the use of the Rocky Mountains separating the West coast from the East coast, for historical reasons (Oasisamerica and Spanish/Mexican colonization in part of the region precedes the Americans) I chose the second, but anyway, is possible to argue what would be more valid division
Ah, just to clarify, the reason why central Asia is literally only Asia is that technically that name only referred to this region (together with Anatolia, Arabia and Iran, but details), an alternative would be Turan, but this means that only refers Transoxiana and I wanted to include Siberia (Central) and the Himalayas
Now as far as what I was based was in general the size of the geographic area and topography mixed with the history of it, in order to have a discussion about what would qualify or not, North America was only divided because it would be too big in compared to continents, I thought of two possible divisions, one would be to use the Canadian shield + Greenland and Canadian archipelago separated from the rest, the other would be the use of the Rocky Mountains separating the West coast from the East coast, for historical reasons (Oasisamerica and Spanish/Mexican colonization in part of the region precedes the Americans) I chose the second, but anyway, is possible to argue what would be more valid division
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Gian
Banned
Finally cross-posting this...
A sneak preview of what I've been working on for the past week and a half (I think). You can pretty much tell what it is.
PS: I need a better flag.
Nice! THat's a Malta-like/ Catholic Arab Andalus right?
really like it, tho I'm not sure how capable portugal would be at getting ceuta without the algarves
Gian
Banned
Pretty much.
I think you're right, though I actually did toy with the idea of giving Sebta to the British as well.