Jan 1st, 2009 | Cliff Pickover survey

Have you ever wondered why so many country names, or names of US states, end in "a"?


Dr. Cliff Pickover is the author of forty mind-expanding books at the edges of science, mysticism, and religion. His latest book is Archimedes to Hawking: Laws of Science and the Great Minds Behind Them.


Have you ever wondered why so many country names, or names of US states, end in a?


By Cliffpickover
156 votes, 1,110 views , 8 comments
 
 
Poll tags:Cliff Pickover, Pickover, Letter A, Continent, Geography, Names, Language, Linguistics

 
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Comments (8)
Dalekcat
(Reply)
Dalekcat
United Kingdom

posted Jun 15th, 2009 at 07:48 CDT

dont care

Xenosilvano
(Reply)
Xenosilvano
Portugal

posted May 30th, 2009 at 23:42 CDT

A country is feminine.

Careohless
(Reply)
Careohless
South Carolina, United States

posted Apr 28th, 2009 at 08:27 CDT

I just wonder why so many countries end with the word "-stan"

Bunnydoll
(Reply)
Bunnydoll
Moldova, Republic Of

posted Jan 4th, 2009 at 10:58 CST

united states of America-USA

Godfather
(Reply)
Godfather
Bangladesh

posted Jan 2nd, 2009 at 12:47 CST

A=America,I=is,D=dieing,S =slowly.= AIDS ( But please all mighty help them bless them let them know what is the true). I love America. Long live America.

Bmccue7
(Reply)
Bmccue7
Georgia, United States

posted Jan 1st, 2009 at 06:32 CST

Ending a name with an "a" makes that name sound more like the name of a country.

Politicass
(Reply)
Politicass
California, United States

posted Jan 1st, 2009 at 06:15 CST

Maybe (in Latin/European languages at least) the ending "a"denotes the feminine form of "land" (as in "mother land")?

Jake173
(Reply)
Jake173
Pennsylvania, United States

posted Jan 1st, 2009 at 06:12 CST

"ahh" is one of the most primal sounds we have. Think of a baby - papa, dada etc...
 
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