| Archive for langcafe2.myfreeforum.org Come in and have your daily cup of languages! |
| fab |
NEW GUESS WHERE IT IS GAMEWe have discussed long time about the different "ambiances" of European regions -Now could you be able to guess those architectural ambiances (all in Europe), Country and region ? They are quite representative of identified regions. and with which adjective would you qualify them (central, eastern, western)...? 1. 
2. 
3. 
4. 
5. 
6. 
7. 
8. 
9.  [/quote]
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| Pauline |
my guesses:
1. Italy 2. Germany or Britain 3. Austria 4. Switzerland 5. Ireland 6. France north 7. france south 8. Germany 9. Italy |
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| Fredrik |
My guesses:
1. Southern France 2. Benelux 3. Switzerland 4. Scandinavia 5. Burgundy 6. Northern France 7. Greece 8. Northern Germany 9. Spain |
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| Benjamin [inactive] |
1. Southwest Europe — probably Italy, Spain, or Southern France
2. Northwest Europe — probably Britain, Northern Germany or the Benelux region 3. Central Europe — probably Southern Germany 4. Northern Europe — probably Northern Germany 5. Northern France, I think 6. Northern France, probably Brittany 7. Atlantic coast of France — La Rochelle? 8. Central Germany 9. Southeast Europe — maybe Serbia |
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| fab |
before to give the answers I'd like to have also non-European points of view. What interest me is not to give of not the right answer but to know how our so diverse continent is percived by other people...
So André, Deborah, Loic, Uriel, elaine, (and all the other I haven't time to name... sorry  ) don't hesitate to give your spontaneous feelings !
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| Deborah |
Um...unfortunately I can't give you my absolutely spontaneous feelings. I was too eager to wait until you chose to reveal the locations, so I cheated and looked at the photo properties. However, I think I can remember my initial reactions, and besides, some of the file names weren't revealing: 1. Spain or southern France 2. Germany (north? south?) 3. Switzerland or Alpine France 4. Norway?? I actually thought I'd seen a place that looked like this somewhere in the US. 5. central France 6. northern France 7. Atlantic coast of northern France 8. northern Germany 9. Spain |
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| fab |
No more guesses ?
Most of you had often close answer to the reality - with some interesting surprises. 1. All of you identified it as a tipical southern European town. c Concerning the country only Fredrik was right, but beborah and benjamin had a feeling that the region had something that they tended to identify as French or Spanish - Actually it was well guessed since it is a picture of Albi, a tipical city of the Toulouse region, in the south of massif central. This region has a very identificable identity, made of the meet between tipical southern canal-tiles and brick walls (as it is also find in some Spanish regions on the other side of pirenees, and in Po valley in Italy).
2. All of you were in a good way. It was generally identifies as being Benelux/Britain/German. Actually it was in Northern Germany, in Berlin, and represent a quite tipical northern European looking, almost Dutch renaissance for the central one, but more north German for the one on the left.
3. All of you identified quite well the region - from southern Germany, Asutria to switzerland. It was actually the swiss capital Bern, Frederik guessed weel once again. This ambiance is more tipîcally German swiss/Bade wurtemberg/Alsacian than really like Austria or the rest of Germany. It could be qualified as "western- central European, more than central European I think.
4. Excepted Pauline all of you have identified it as a tipically northern European ambiance. Benjamin was right, it was Northern germany, in Hamburg. It could be also in Scandinavia, and as deborah said it could looked also quite north American (especially concerning the diversity of house of different styles in the middle of a green residential area.
5. Frederik guessed well, having been there he recognise a tipically Burgondian village. This is actually the tipical ambiance of the north-east of France (as Benjamin rightly noticed it), especially burgondy and Ile-de-France regions. It was not Ireland, and not either representative of central France.
6. All of you identified it as northern France ambiance. Benjamin was a bit more precise as he felt it to be more more especially north-western. It was actually Chinon, in Loire Valley. Actually less northern than the preceding. I think the tipical grey/blue roofs gave you a more northerner feel while it is in fact just a more westerner characteristic. Those areas have warm climates as we notice the cypress trees on it.
7. For Pauline and Frederic it was a comple error. Frederick identified as Being very mediterranean ambiance (Greece), while Pauline felt it was southern French. It was actually in Atlantic coast of France as Ben and Deb rightly guessed it: Poitou-Charentes coast (close to La Rochelle) - Benjamin was very close to the good answer! Actually it is just at south of Britanny, and quite close to the preceding region - about 80km only more at the west - quite hard to believe when comparing both... But on the south of Loire river, where the tipical north-western French ambiance finish quickly for a more "mediterranean" one, even if the place is more in the northern half of France than the southern one.
8. All of you guessed this tipically German picture. But only Benjamin identified it well with a central German one.
9. None of you guessed it. It is the old town of Nice. Most of you felt a mediterranean feel, but deborah and Frederick were on the wrong side of it. It could in reality being more easily in Italy, only 20 Km away from there. The surpise was Ben opinion... I still wondering what coud be Serbian about it ! 
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Actually I tried to find tipical pictures from the ambiances of Germany (+switzerland) and France we were taloking about in other threads, but this time more oriented to the architectural ambiance of the different regions we spoke about in the past. Thanks all ! |
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| Deborah |
You hit the nail on the head -- the diversity is what made me think it could be North American. I'm surprised that it's Hamburg, though, since I thought that area was completely flat.
Looking just at the buildings, I didn't have much of a clue (meaning that I'm not familiar with building styles in that area). But the sky looked quite Atlantic to me. |
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| fab |
In fact they are very similar type of villages and buildings that you find in Britanny for exemple, with the difference that the roofs are tipically southern European. I'm often amused to see how different traditional roofs can give, often inconciently, a certain feeling, despite the simar urbanism and architectonic characteristics. The tipical white Breton house, but with a mediterranean roof instead of the high inclined ardoise one can gives a almost Greek feeling : Here Ile d'yeu in Vendée: 
To compare : Andalousia 
While "Belle Ile", In Britanny at only 80km northern from there looks like this: 
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| Benjamin [inactive] |
When I first saw that picture, I actually thought that it was Birmingham, because there's a building in Birmingham that looks almost exactly like that. It was only upon closer examination that I realised that it wasn't.
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| Shouga |
I agree with Benjamin; that picture reminds me of many piers and beach fronts here in Devon. Most of them looks a lot bigger than that one though.
Reminds me of the houses along the built-up side of the Exmouth coastline: 
The harbour layout itself strongely reminds me of the exquisite town of Clovelly, one of the most amazing towns I have ever been to: 
I know the harbour itself might not look too pretty, but believe me, the village itself...I would take up an entire post just posting pictures of the village, and how it drops down a cliff and onto the beach, and how people drag their shopping up and down the cobbled village paths with sleighs, and how all of the houses are preserved and unaltered from centuries ago... Bude: 
Padstow: 
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| fab |
Yes, Those regions have a similar ambiance! Some people would call it "Celtic" - I think it is better to speak about a "extreme western Europe ambiance" (more accurate but a bit too long!)
I heard those regions of Cornwall and devon claim a "Celtic" identity, is that true ? Actually a lot of places in the extreme western of Europe have a certain air de famille - because sharing common rocky coasts, similar very oceanic conditions, etc... And the way of life linked to atlantic: fishing ports, etc. In architecture the ardoise roofs, made from a common material of extreme western Europe, and houses often made with local geological material make them looking alike - with each time its own characteristic; in each case tipically British, French or Spanish. -Spanish (Asturias): 
-French (Britanny): 
Or English (Cornwall) 
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| Shouga |
That picture you put up of Cornwall reminds me very strongely of the quay in my local city, lol. Do you happen to know where that 'Cornwall picture' was taken?
Interesting. I just researched this, and apparently there are six modern nations that can be defined as Celtic: Brittany, Cornwall, Ireland, the Isle of Man, Scotland and Wales. My opinion was definately that the latter four was quite Celtic, especially Ireland and Wales. Other places that apparently retain some of these characteristics include Devon and Cumbria, and to be honest, out of all of these places, I would name Cumbria as being what I imagine to be most Celtic, even though it has no traces of a Celtic language. I never think of Devon or Cornwall as being Celtic, and no one down here describes them as thus. However, as Cornwall's language, Cornish, is a Celtic language, then I suppose Cornwall really is more Celtic than I initially thought of it as... |
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| fab |
The problem with the term "celtic" is that it is have been heavily re-invented concept during the romantisist perid of the 19th when the different European people tried to link themselves with an idealized vision of their ancestry - it gave birth to a folkloric revival which as in fact quite few to see with the cultural realities.
For exemple Bretagne is sometime considered as "CEltic" while in fact only a little part of it was celtic-speaking. Celtic music itself is nothing more than form of reviaval medieval-musics (that were existing in all Europe, not only in "celtic nations". The 19th century put the label "celtic" on it, and now we all are conviced that it is. I see the "celtic thing" as a sort of marketing/ideological label to describe a group a lands that share similar ambiances in landscape, climate and re-born folkloric traditions. In this meaning most of the extreme European lands could claim a "celtic" identity. Actually I like very much those lands and the ambiance that goes with, included lanscapes and music - But I don't think that is necesaary "Celtic" We should invent maybe a new concept for this, maybe "Atlantic", even if we would have to precise that not all atlantic regions are concerned by this ambiance. the lands that include that very specific and emblematic ambiance correspond more or less to these in blue: 
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| Porthos |
Or how about we don't obsess over terminology, and just use the standard, accepted term, and not worry about, or invent long-winded names like "extreme north western European atlantic ambiance". Let's just call it "Celtic" like we always have, and as it is understood in the modern sense (of or relating the cultures or peoples of the British Isles and other locations which speak or historically speak a Celtic language). When I say "Celtic" I'm referring mainly to a historical linguistic-cultural group and a modern ethnic group, which retains a "Celtic" identity in the British Isles. The architecture, scenery, and overall ambiance normally associated with these regions is often called "Celtic", and for that reason. There's nothing wrong with that, and any attempt to invent a new word for it is rather pointless. |
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| fab |
Shouga,
Some of your pictures (1st and 5 especially) look to me very English (bow-windows, lined-houses,etc.) and not have the "atlantic ambiance" the we find in north-western France.
terminology is important, because if we use a ambiguous word, the meaning change and confuse people.
Used that way, "Celtic" is a neologism, and it has not always been used with those "extreme western conotations". By the way I don't think the term would be "extreme north-western European", but just "extreme western", since it is not especially a northern European concept at all, since it include also spanish regions (even some portuguese could fit in) - and its geographic center is more Britanny than the Birtish isles.
Why refering it to especially the British isles ? The anciant celtic culture was not originary for western Europe and "extreme western Europe" was not the especially the most "celtic" regions at that time. Almost all western Europe was celtic-speaking - it was more a continental thing. the problem is that "celtic" has taken two different meanings. And using it in two differnt case create a confusion in mind which leads to some misconceptions. As you said one is associated with some countries of the British isles or Britanny which had historically been (at least in some parts of it) celtic-speaking. Claming that as a whole Scotland or Britanny were celtic-speaking is not even true. In most part of Britanny it has not been the case anymore since the roman colonisation as in a lot of places of Europe, the same for Galicia or Asturias (and I think for a big part of Scotland also).
this is precicely the problem. Using a word with two different concepts leads to a confusion. Some people assume for exemple that the anciant Celtic people and culture is originary from the British isles and that the anciant celtic people and culture was carring with it "extreme European characteristics", whic was not the case - one exemple is the architecture and the ambiance you precieved as been "celtic": this ambiance has nothing to see with any celtic culture and did not existed in the places where the anciant celtic-speaking people were mainly established like Gaul, central Europe, Spain or northern Italy. The other problem is that what made the legacy of the "extreme western Europe "celtic nations" was only the language, the other characteristics we associate with it are not especially of celtic origin, (such as medieval musics, oceanic climates and architecture and way of life link with it : you could find similar ambiances in Norviegian coasts, which as never been Celtic !) So since those regions lost the celtic thing in them (the language), they lost their celticness.
What is wrong is that this ambiance has nothing to see with any etnic, linguistic or cultural concept linked to the Celts - but is just a geograpahical characterist : a group of distinct lands which share similar geological and climatical ambiant. The similarities in the traditional architecture are only due because traditional architectures are a respons to a specific climatical condition, and not at all because any "celtic" cultural unity. Similar conditions give birth to similar looking, at least superficially, concerning the kind of roofs for exemple (the organisation in terms of urbanism and spatial architectural organisation is often completly different between Britanny and Scotish architecture for exemple). some of these lands were the refuge of the last celtic languages for centuries, but a lot of others didn't and were not at all linked with a "celtic" culture, but still look similar; |
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| fab |
Where seems to be these towns ?
what European regions's name or adjective would you use sponteaneously to describe them ? Celtic, mediterranean, northern European, southern European, balkanic, eastern, scandinavian, etc... ? |
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| Deborah |
My guess is northern Italy. | ||||||||||
| Julian |
Could be. But the second picture reminds me most of the villages in the Castagniccia (Haute-Corse), on the way to the university town of Corte from Bastia. 
Click to see full size image 
Click to see full size image |
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| Irrintzi |
Albi is amazing, lot monuments, and a great history and culture. Other best one: Carcassonne: 
Collioure (Catalonia) and also near Port-Vendre: 
Narbonne 
Villefranche de conflent (Cerdagne) 
Ville de Foix (Ariège) 
Perpignan, great historic city, with beautiful mudejar, romanic, medieval, and other architectures, with a great rugby team: USAP.  
I visited all this beautiful cities, It's a magnificent and hearty region, the sea and the Pyrenean mountains are very close, I have a very good souvenir of it (except the mosquitos...  )
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| fab |
Nice pictures !
these central-southern regions of France are maybe less mediatized than the glamourous cote d'azur, but worth it. I lived in Montpellier few months, I kept a good memory. I don't know really Albi, the city of origin of Toulouse-Lautrec, as we see on the shop... the famous painting of the parisian "bordels"... and "la goulue" 
Julian, You have well guessed Corsica ! |
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| fab |
it was a long time since the last quizz... a new one one :
what is that mysterious city ? where it can be ? 
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| Irrintzi |
Dudarik gabekin DONOSTI errango nuke , Gipuzkoako hiriburua.
Without any doubt, I'll say San Sebastian/Donostia, Guipuzcoa provincia's capital. 
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| fab |
good answer !!
I'll go to Basque country and Cantabria next week ! |
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| Irrintzi |
Interesting. I advise you to visit Gernika, a basque culture symbol. Gernikako Arbola (Gernika's tree), where kings of Castile then Spain swore to respect freedom of Basque provinces, it resisted of 1936 Bombardments. There is a Basque museum, very captivating for the rest in Bayonne too, if you want: http://www.musee-basque.com/default.asp You can go to Donosti, Gazteiz (Vitoria), Iruna (Pamplona) Spanish-Basque beautiful cities, and then Bilbao a modern and traditional basque capital. If you go to the French basque side, you can go to Soule/Xiberoa province, mysterious, charming and attractive. And this summer there was-are many basque traditional festivities: fêtes de Bayonne (which attract 1 million festayres during 1 week), Sanfermines on July and Encierros (7-14 of July), one of the most important festivity of the world (with Rio de Janeiro's carnival and Beer party of Munich.), etc... In Donostia, soon there is la Semana Grande (12-19 august) with many activities... And great fireworks. Toros de Fuego en la calle... 
Concurso Internacional de Fuegos Artificiales: 
You can admire and eat some Tapas (some are very expensive...): 
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| Elaine |
Okay, guess the city. Either name will work.
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| Benjamin [inactive] |
Pretoria, South Africa? | ||||||||||
| Elaine |
 How didja ever guess?
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| Benjamin [inactive] |
The trees in the second picture are very distinctive... I've seen pictures of quite a lot of cities in South Africa, so I suppose it just looked familiar somehow. What's its other name, incidentally?
This one should be fairly easy, I'd have thought: 
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| Elaine |
That looks like Edinburgh... a very sunny and bright Edinburgh.
You were able to name the city based on its trees??  There are trees like that in LA!
From what I've read, there's been an awfully contentious and divisive debate going on on whether to change its name to "Tshwane", which is already the name of its metropolitan municipality. 
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| Benjamin [inactive] |
Yes, indeed. I was there this weekend for the Scottish Green Party Autumn Conference — it was very gloomy yesterday, but today it was actually very sunny (until it gets dark at like 3pm). We were in a wonderful conference hall at Napier University which was halfway up one of those hills you can see in the background, and had huge windows at the front so we could see the view. |
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| André in Zuid-Afrika |
Those purple trees are jacarandas, and Pretoria is famous for it. It's nickname is actually Jacaranda City. Elaine is right about the name, there is a huge fight going because of the proposed name change. The Tshwane metro council's area includes not only Pretoria, but also the city of Centurion, as well as towns such as Acacia. The metro council insists that "Pretoria" only refers to a small part of the city (essentially the city centre), and that the rest of the city should also be called Tshwane. It hasn't been changed officially yet, and the fight continues. Many blacks also oppose the name change, not only whites. Here's the latest:
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| fab |
Benjamin, so now you study in Scotland? Since you live there, did your vision of it has changed? or do you still think that its culture is very different from English's as you've said before?
Another picture question (ps; easy one: it is in relation with something that happens every year at this time of year...) 
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| Elaine |
My guess is Les Baux-de-Provence, but what do I know... | ||||||||||
| fab |
Well, not provence...
other photos of same place 
well, it has to ee with a famous bad wine...[/quote] |
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| Benjamin [inactive] |
Yes, I now live in Scotland, and I absolutely love it here.
I never said that Scotland is 'very different' from England. I said that there are certain differences between England and Scotland, and that I would support increased autonomy or 'independence' for Scotland. So no, my view of Scotland in this sense has basically not changed, although I think you have a mistaken idea of what my view of Scotland was all along anyway. What has changed though is that I now find that I feel more at home in Scotland than in England (or at least the parts of Scotland that I've been to — the Western Isles would be quite a different story, I'd imagine). I actually went to England this weekend, first to see my friend in York, and then to a kind of environmentalist conference in Sheffield. It was a bit weird — on the one hand, it's obviously familiar, but on the other hand, it actually seemed slightly 'foreign' (for what of a better word), because I've got used to how things are in Scotland. When I was buying drinks in Sheffield last night, I handed over a Scottish £10 note. The woman at the bar frowned, and then examined it very carefully for about a minute. She eventually accepted it, though very reluctantly, still frowning as she shoved the change into my hand. I'm not sure if she just suspected that the note wasn't real, or whether this was yet another example of the 'anti-Scottish sentiment' which has been increasing in England in recent times. Equally, I was very aware during the conference that it was very 'England-centric' — there was no mention of the climate change bill which the Scottish Government is currently preparing, for example, although the UK Government's climate change bill was mentioned a lot. I might not really have noticed this sort of thing before. Also how people kept talking about how none of the 'three main political parties' were taking sufficient measures — but there are four 'main' parties in Scotland. Incidentally, I apparently sound sort of Scottish now — very posh Scottish though, or so I'm told, which means that my speech has only really changed very slightly, though enough for people to notice a difference. |
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| Elaine |
Oh! I think I got it now! This "bad wine" you speak of... are you referring to Beaujolais Nouveau? Beaujolais Nouveau, you're probably aware, is supposed to be the perfect complement to a lovely Thanksgiving meal, but I myself prefer the rich and full-bodied flavor of Pinot Noir. In fact, sometimes that's the only thing I consume on Thanksgiving Day!  
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| fab |
you win...
It is beaujolais region, which means the area around the small town of Beaujeu. |
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| fab |
Where could that be?
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| Benjamin [inactive] |
I think that's the hardest one I've seen yet! I'm sort of thinking somewhere in Germany, but there seems to be too much snow. | ||||||||||
| fab |
Germany, NO. quite far. | ||||||||||
| fab |
Actually, maybe too much snow for being Germany, but enough to be Spain.
It is the city of Burgos, on the road between Basque country and madrid. in normal weather conditions it looks quite different... 
(Od).jpg)
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| Elaine |
Burgos looks beautiful! But of course I say that about every place I've never been.
Okay, where dis be at? 
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| fab |
Mexico city, I'm almost sure... If not it is another city in Mexico. | ||||||||||
| Elaine |
Are you almost sure, or positively sure? Yup it is Mexico.
Okay, smartypants... where in the world is this lovely city? 
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| Benjamin [inactive] |
Buenos Aires? | ||||||||||
| Elaine |
Yes it is Buenos Aires, a name that I cannot say without launching into a chorus (in my head, of course) of "Stand back, Buenos Aires! Because you oughta know whatcha gonna get in me..." 
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| fab |
Buenos Aires
I've been there, so it is pretty Easy. And this one? The biggest urban area of a famous country, which one? 
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| Benjamin [inactive] |
A wild guess: Milan? | ||||||||||
| Deborah |
I don't remember much about the general look of Milano from my brief stay there in 1980, but that cathedral looks like what I recall. | ||||||||||
| fab |
Well that right, Milan.
Another one: 
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| André in Zuid-Afrika |
This one should be easy...
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| fab |
Le Cap (cape town) I think...
your guesses for mine? |
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| André in Zuid-Afrika |
You've got it! The mountain gave it away, didn't it? 
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| Deborah |
Yeah, not many cities have Table Mountain in the background...
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| Wanderin |
So, what's the place?
I wouldn't guessed if I didnt know the answer
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| André in Zuid-Afrika |
Damn! You just can't take a picture of Cape Town without the bloody mountain popping up somewhere on the pic!
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| fab |
I'd say somewhere in China, or at least in Asia.
We can notice "german" style architecture, so I tend to think of tchintao (not sure of the name) which was a former german colony in China. No one has a guesses for the one I posted ? |
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| Benjamin [inactive] |
I'd guess maybe Zaragoza for yours, Fab.
For Wanderin's, I'm going to guess somewhere in Kazakhstan. |
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| Julian |
fab, photo n°2, c'est la Maison des Avocats, non ? Et n°3 & n°5, la Cathédrale St-Jean ? |
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| greg in noord-frankrijk |
Looks like a mix of New-Orleans and a Russian or Baltic city !... 
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| fab |
julian, you have rightely guessed. It is Lyon... no secret for you. | ||||||||||
| fab |
The city where I had new years eve days this year...
Where it can be ?? 
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| André in Zuid-Afrika |
I see your point! 
That building is rather unique in Cape Town, not typical of the building style used (which is why I used the pic). Apparently at one time it was a brothel.....  Now it's used as a youth hostel. It's in Long Street, one of Cape Town's most famous streets for it's restaurants and shops, formerly known for it's prostitutes... female and male.... When I lived in CT about 14 years ago we used to avoid Long Street like the plague... now it's the place to be!
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| Benjamin [inactive] |
Copenhagen, maybe? Probably not, but I think I've been to wherever it is. |
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| fab |
well, not copenhagen.
some clues: 
 [/quote]
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| Elaine |
Initially, I was going to name some city in Belgium because the skies look so dreary, but now that I think of it, the buildings in your last 2 pictures look remarkably like those in Vienna (not that I've ever been to Vienna, but I've seen pictures of Vienna to know how it looks). | ||||||||||
| Deborah |
You're right, Elaine. I was leaning toward somewhere in Germany, but the picture of the Belvedere palace identifies it as Vienna. | ||||||||||
| fab |
Yes, you guessed well, it is Vienna!
Ja, das ist gut ! wien ! (not sure about mys first steps in German...) I've just came back from there, this was my first trip in central Europe actually (I don't usually don't condider the places of Germany where I've been as central Europe). Vienna has many common points with Paris in quite a lot of ways, which leds me to think that we are somehow much closer to Austria than to Germany in a lot of points. both cities were capitals of important empires in the 19th century, and are both marqued by what we could call an "imperial urbanism". I didn't see it in no other European capital really. both cities are somehow between northern and southern Europe, situated at about the same latitudes. Vienna have been the "door" to the Balkans and had many contacts with Ottoman empire (and dominations, from where it recieved its coffea culture), and in the same time is part of the Germanic northern Europe for its language, but so close also to Slavic Europe, Italy and Hungary. both cities have been strong artistic centers at the 19th and begining of 20th centuries. And both are famous for their "café" culture, even if, due to climatic conditions the Vienner cafés have not what make their Parisian counterparts famous, the "terrasses", but have very good coffeas and excellent "Viennoiseries"(which became also somehow a Parisian speciality for some of them) Said that, Vienna still is very Alemanic on many points. And outside of the language, the other big difference for me was the climate, despite being at the same latitudes, Vienna has really VERY cold winters from a french point of view. It was maybe about -8°C, while it was +8°C in Paris... about 15°C of amplitude. It is interesting to see ho small is now a country which was one century ago a huge European empire, bigger than France.  [/img]
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| Elaine |
Another one:
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| fab |
Sao Paulo ? | ||||||||||
| Elaine |
Very good. You know your cities well.
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| Deborah |
A new one:
Click to see full size image 
Click to see full size image 
Click to see full size image 
Click to see full size image 
Click to see full size image |
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| fab |
It looks like lisboa
Well, I'm actually working in the field of urbanism! (urban planning) ;) |
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| Deborah |
That's it! (I think it also looks quite a bit like San Francisco). |
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| Elaine |
I thought it was San Francisco and that you were being funny again.
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| Deborah |
Oh, good -- it worked! I was inspired to do this after seeing a movie that takes place in Lisboa and saw one shot of what must have been a funicular on a very steep street with a view of the estuary. It looked just like a cable car in SF with a view of the bay. |
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| fab |
Well, despite the fact that both cities have tramways on hills with a view on a bay, and a metallic bridge I don't think we could confuse both cities when looking at the architecture which has very few in common.
Well, to reactivate this thread I'll post a new one: Not a easy one I think 
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| Deborah |
For that very reason, I didn't show much of the architecture, only that which -- at least at first glance -- looks as if it could be in SF. (White buildings with red clay tile roofs are quite common here.) |
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| greg in noord-frankrijk |
It looks a bit like a Spanish seaside resort, perhaps on the Atlantic coast. However, the overall impression is everything looks "too new". I don't know. Maybe a brand new tourist spot somewhere between Gijón and Santander ?... (Si ça se trouve j'ai tout faux → Mer noire, Indonésie...)
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| fab |
Greg, tu as faux, cependant il s'agit bien d'un pays hispanophone bien que n'étant pas du tout sur la cote Atlantique Espagnole.
Il s'agit en fait de la grande ville et station balnéaire Argentine de Mar del plata, située à 300 kilomètres de Buenos Aires. Tu as cependant raison sur le fait qu'il s'agit de l'Atlantique... |
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| Benjamin [inactive] |
What about this one?
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| Deborah |
I'm going to guess that it's in Scotland, but I have no idea which city/town. | ||||||||||
| Benjamin [inactive] |
Yes, it's in Scotland. This one might be too difficult actually — I'm not sure how well the smaller Scottish cities (i.e. not Edinburgh or Glasgow) are known internationally. | ||||||||||
| KSa |
Inverness? |
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| Benjamin [inactive] |
No, though I actually went to Inverness last week. What I found most fascinating was that the people there speak very 'Standard English' -like — even though it's a (not especially wealthy) small city in the north of Scotland. This is apparently because it's in a traditionally Gaelic-speaking region, where people have learnt Germanic language only relatively recently. People quite often ask me if I'm from Inverness, actually.
The city in the photographs in the Central Belt, which is the area broadly around Edinburgh and Glasgow. |
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| KSa |
A little bit off-topic
Recently I plunged into downloading podcasts from BBC radio (in mp3 format, legally and for free). I love it, because I can practice my understanding of spoken English from different parts of Britain. Yesterday, for example, I downloaded a file from a Scottish radio (I forgot the name). What I find interesting is that the language was quite easy to understand for me but if I hadn't known that those who were speaking were Scottish I'd have thought they were not from the British Isles due to the strange accent resembling that of the Dutch or German (but still different) and the way they pronounced "r". I must download some more Scotish programmes to see whether it was just an exception or maybe the rule. I'm quite suspicious though because I've been warned many times that the Scottish English is difficult to understand and I personally experienced that once (I think I mentioned this on the forum the other month). |
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| Benjamin [inactive] |
Scottish English is rhotic, and usually uses alveolar trills and/or alveolar taps (i.e. rolled Rs) at least before vowels. It isn't necessarily difficult to understand for someone mainly familiar with Standard Southern British English — it depends primarily on the social background of the speaker. And perhaps sadly, the more 'English' a Scottish person sounds, generally the 'higher' their social class.
If you're an upper-class or maybe upper-middle-class Scottish person, then you probably speak RP — though perhaps a slightly rhotic version with somewhat Scottish intonation, with a few Scottish words and expressions such as outwith, meaning 'outside of'. Menzies Campbell, the former Liberal Democrat leader at Westminster, is a good example of this. Then there's Scottish Standard English, which tends to be spoken by middle-class Scottish people and people from the Inverness area — this uses mainly Standard British English vocabulary and grammar, with a Scottish accent influenced to an extent by RP. The Edinburgh Morningside or Glasgow Kelvinside variety (or 'posh Scottish', 'private school Scottish', 'BBC Scottish' etc.) comes under this, albeit towards the upper social end. More distinctive regional dialects are spoken primarily by working-class people. Personally, I find the speech of rural working-class people from the Northeast amongst the hardest to understand. This is arguably not English at all anyway. If you're interested in hearing a wide range of Scottish English varieties together, you might be interested in watching First Minister's Questions, which can be found here, amongst other film archives from the Scottish Parliament: http://www.holyrood.tv/library.as...itle=First+Minister%27s+Questions Of course, it is important to bear in mind that politicians for the most part are not working-class, and thus tend to speak in a way which is close to Standard English. |
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| Elaine |
Paisley? |
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| greg in noord-frankrijk |
C'est déjà ça ! Mais il me semblait bien que la station avait un petit air trop "neuf"...
Incredible. I thought it was somewhere in France... |
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| Benjamin [inactive] |
Seriously? Where? | ||||||||||
| fab |
Benjamin, I don't know which town it could be in Scotland, I don't know too many of them outside the two big ones. Mayde Dundee, Aberdeen, ?
If it has to be in France it would somewhere the north west of the country, probably in Britanny. Siad that when you what carefully you can see some quite typical British elements, such as "fenetres à 'guillotine' "; which is the norm in most English-speaking countries, or some other facade features. Also we see a policeman with a fluo jacket, which is I think the way they are dressed in UK as I remember. The very oceanic wild ambiance and climate can add also to certain typical architectural elements of both northwestern France and Scotland, such as the ardoise roofs and the heavy rock walls. Britanny looks more like this: 
 [/img][/quote]
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| Benjamin [inactive] |
It's actually Stirling. I'd actually say though that the least 'Scottish' element of the photos of Brittany you've posted are the timber-framed buildings, which don't really exist in Scotland. However, I think the large stone building in that picture looks very Scottish, especially with the round turret with cone-shaped roof. Now, here are three rather different places, but they all have the same name: 
What is it? |
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| fab |
could you guess this one?
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| fab |
I don't know which homonym cities that's can be! Cambridge, London, Birmingham, Dundee, Aukland, etc. ?
My homonym city in US would be this one! 
In Canada: 
These homonym cities could also been confuded: 
_skyline_-_Centenary_Square_640.jpg)
especially in this German website about Birmingham in England, with a picture of Birmingham, Alabama, USA... http://grossbritanien.reisen-information.de/birmingham/ |
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| Elaine |
What is a homonym city? I have never heard that term before. |
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| Benjamin [inactive] |
I assume that homonym cities refers to cities with the same names.
You're sort of on the right lines... is there a big city with lots of skyscrapers called Dundee somewhere? I'll give you a clue — the first is in Australia, the second is in Scotland and the third is in Canada.
Numpties.
But ugh, that city.  I think the English one is even uglier than the American one. Thank goodness I will (hopefully) never have to live there again.
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| Elaine |
Oh, but of course! How silly of me. It's as simple as that!
But can Birmingham, AL and Birmingham, England truly be called homonyms? They're not exactly pronounced the same.
Okay, I get it now. That's Paris, Texas! There's also a Paris, Arkansas; Paris, Kentucky in Bourbon County; and Paris, Maine in Oxford County. My city's homonym city would be Los Ángeles, Chile, site of the famous Salto del Laja. 
Isn't that beautiful? Sadly had that been in Los Angeles, CA, our city planners would've poured concrete over the riverbed a long time ago and turned the whole thing into a giant flood control channel where all the vatos could practice their "craft". Ah, the price of urbanism! 
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| Deborah |
*sigh*...poor old Los Angeles River! | ||||||||||
| Elaine |
Good news! The unsightly concrete-lined LA River... 
... is going to be transformed into a beautiful recreational greenway with pedestrian walkways and bicycle paths (at least, that's what our city leaders have promised): 
Re: fab's latest pictures... somewhere in Spain. |
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