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| Austria and Australia in English is very confusing. So is there any relationship between these two countries, when they are tens of thousands of kilometers apart. |
So have you ever wondered what these two countries have to do with each other? To answer this question, let's first learn about the origin of the two names.
Origin Austria and Australia
Austria has existed since 996, but the name Austria itself has older roots. In Medieval Latin, Marchia Austriaca means eastern border, and in fact on a geographical map Austria is located directly to the east of Germany.
In Old German (High Germany - German spoken in central and southern Germany), the area was referred to as an eastern kingdom with the name "Ostarreich" (Ostar - of the east, Reich - kingdom of country). This was the name used during the reign of the Roman Emperor Charlemagne.
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| Austria |
Today, in modern German, Austria is known as Österreich. The final "Öst" syllable is changed to "Aust" the same way it is pronounced - ie Austria. Because in fact in many countries they tend to write a word the way they hear it. However, in Austria and Germany, they still use the original word Österreich.
And the name Australia is derived from a direction completely different from the direction east on the compass - that is south. Before the explorers set foot in Antarctica, people had the idea of a continent located in the "bottom half" of the Earth, in order to balance the large continents that were discovered and drawn on the map. above".
Before the 2nd century AD, this large southern continent was known as "Terra Australis Incognita". In Latin, "Australis" means south, which is derived from the Latin word "Auster" (southern wind). And until the explorers actually set foot in this land, the name was shortened to "Australis".
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| Terra Australis or New Holland |
The word "Terra" was proposed to be omitted in 1814 by Matthew Fillers - the first man to circumnavigate Antarctica by sea. In 1824, there was a slight change in the name "Australis" to "Australia" and it is officially used to this day.
So are the two related?
Thus, it is clear that the two names are derived from two completely different languages, one from High German - Austria, the other from Latin - Australia. But don't rush to conclusions, because these two names both appear thanks to its position in which direction.
On the other hand, existing earlier than these two languages or any other at that time was Proto-Indo-European - spoken sometime between 4500 - 2500 BC. Although there is no official report on this language, but with a large number of studies, we still have the necessary information about it.
This language is said to have originated in the Pontic-Caspian steppe of Eastern Europe, and in particular, there is a word related to the matter we are talking about - the word "aus", which means dawn or light, light. This word associated with the directions on the compass is also very logical.
First, we see that the further south we go, the larger the sun appears (e.g. getting closer to the equator). Also based on where Proto-Indo-European was spoken, the region of the Rising Sun is considered to be in the southeast. Therefore, the word "aus" is believed to refer to direction in general. Until the basic directions were added and standardized, the Germanic languages decided to associate the word with the east, while the Roman group associated it with the south. And that is the premise for the two names to be born.
Etymology is indeed a study that requires a lot of sophistication, when it seems that apart from the overlap of the first few letters, there is nothing related between Austria and Australia. Yet it is actually related to surprise, indeed the beauty of language.
Reference: Science Alert