Thread: Locations (North, South, East, West)

Originally Posted by ac220

Originally Posted by Оля

We don't say "центральноамериканская страна".

But we do. Google finds tens of thousands of uses. It might not be the best style, sure, but it's a perfectly cromulent word.

What is "cromulent"?
Google can find everything. Google doesn't know what context is.

Try to say "There are such-and-such sights to see in this Central American country." Without a single-word adjective for Central America it becomes painful to read. "В этой стране Центральной Америки есть такие-то и такие-то достопримечательности". Maybe it's just me, but it looks clumsy the way a variant with the adjective wouldn't.

As for me, to me the variant "В этой центральноамериканской стране..." sounds clumsy, while "В этой стране Центральной Америки..." sounds perfect. Probably the adjective is too long and not very easy to pronouce as a single word, that's why it seems clumsy.
We widely use the word южноамериканский, for example. It's shorter, and also can be used in many different contexts; say "южноамериканский темперамент", or "южноамериканский кинематограф". But I hardly can imagine someone say "центральноамериканский темперамент", or "центральноамериканский кинематограф".

[quote=Оля][quote=ac220][quote="Оля":1og01t6m]We don't say "[i]центральноамериканская страна[/i]". [/quote]
But we do. Google finds tens of thousands of uses. It might not be the best style, sure, but it's a perfectly cromulent word. [/quote]
What is "cromulent"?
[/quote:1og01t6m]
"Perfectly cromulent" is a reference to "The Simpsons" [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_the_Iconoclast"]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_the_Iconoclast[/url] often used in this kind of debates (Whether or not something is a "real word".)

Originally Posted by Оля

Google can find everything. Google doesn't know what context is.

Sure, it can find anything, but do you think I haven't looked up at least a few of the returned results before posting? They were genuine instances of its usage in (mostly) correct sentences by actual speakers. Russian МИД, for just one example, is certainly staffed by Russians: http://www.mid.ru/ns-rlat.nsf/b4f178bc3 ... enDocument

Originally Posted by Оля

As for me, to me the variant "В этой центральноамериканской стране..." sounds clumsy, while "В этой стране Центральной Америки..." sounds perfect.

Maybe. I personally don't like clusters of short words with intricate patterns of agreement (French pronoms objets or that English subjunctive we discussed lately are the extreme cases) much more than long, multi-syllable words. Both are legit stylistic preferences, I guess. In Russian, anyway.

"Approximately how far is Cuba from the USA?"
Приблизетельно, как далеко находится Куба от США?

I would guess that "Приблизительно сколько километров от Кубы до США?" would be an equally common way of expressing the question. Just as "How long were you in Japan?" is often phrased in Russian as "Сколько дней (недель, месяцев, лет) вы были в Японии?", instead of saying "Как долго?"

Which countries share[s:29xhdsk3]s[/s:29xhdsk3] a border with two oceans?
Какие страны граничат с двумя океанами?

Quite a number of countries do! И даже без карты я могу назвать, по крайней мере, две страны, которые граничат с ТРЕМЯ океанами! (Ответ: И Канада и США граничат с Тихим, Атлантическим, и Северным Ледовитым океанами!)

What is the only Central American country that borders the Pacific Ocean?
Какая единственная центральноамериканская страна граничит с Тихим Океаном?

Better to ask: Сколько стран в Центральной Америке граничат с Тихим Океаном? (Ответ: ВСЕ, за исключением Белиза!)

Originally Posted by Throbert McGee

"Approximately how far is Cuba from the USA?"
Приблизетельно, как далеко находится Куба от США?

I would guess that "Приблизительно сколько километров от Кубы до США?" would be an equally common way of expressing the question. Just as "How long were you in Japan?" is often phrased in Russian as "Сколько дней (недель, месяцев, лет) вы были в Японии?", instead of saying "Как долго?"

Not quite. You're right about "Сколько" often used with time but it somehow doesn't sound as natural here. Or rather, it has different meaning.

"Приблизительно" in the question "Приблизительно, как далеко находится Куба от США?" is in fact somewhat redundant. What a form with "Сколько" isn't used already presupposes an approximate answer. (but you can add it to reassure the other speaker that he doesn`t have to look it up in an encyclopedia,)

If I ask "Сколько километров от Кубы до США?" or even "А сколько примерно километров от Кубы до США?" I expect somewhat more accurate answer.

Same with time:
"Как долго вы были в Японии?" - I have no clue how long have you been there. Even imprecise answer like "Несколько лет" would be OK.

"Сколько дней вы были в Японии?" - I know you were there for several days, but I need a clarification. You may use inversion to indicate you're not sure or use different units in your reply, but a number is expected to be given. "Пять дней." "Не помню, дней пять..." "Не знаю, пару недель..."