> > > In Finnish, we don't. We either call it "Yhdysvallat", which is the whole name translated to Finnish, or Yooza. Well, that's not exactly the way we pronounce it, but it's quite near.
> > >
> > > Juho
> >
> > Wonderful! I was joking; I never imagined anybody *did* call it that. May I ask what you call New Zealand, in Finnish? I like knowing these things. And am I right in thinking Finnish is not related to the languages of surrounding countries?
>
> Well, it's not the *official* way to call it, but I think it's the most common way.
> New Zealand is in Finnish "Uusi-Seelanti". "Uusi" means new, "Seelanti" is just a Finnish way (easier to us) to say Zealand. What comes to the "-" between the two words, in Finnish many names have that. For example, Great Britain is "Iso-Britannia" again, "Iso" is Great and "Britannia" is just a way of saying Britain.
>
> Juho

.. and no, finnish is not related to any of the other nordic languages. In fact, finnish is related to hungarian (look at a map!). I've been told that they originate from when mongolians spread to Europe: One group decided to settle in the north, the other to the south. Quite amazing, if you ask me!

jul"does anybody still want to know?ian