Scandinavia
Countries: Denmark - Europe - Finland - Sweden -
Related: Scandinavian design - Scandinavian erotica
Artists: Edvard Munch
Definition
Scandinavia is the cultural and historic region of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The Scandinavian countries are Norway, Sweden and Denmark, which mutually recognize each other as parts of Scandinavia. The collective label "Scandinavia" reflects the cultural similarity between these countries despite their political independence.
The usage and meaning of the term outside Scandinavia is somewhat ambiguous:
- Finland and Iceland are occasionally counted as parts of Scandinavia.
- In a German mindset, Norway, Sweden and Finland are usually included, but Denmark is not.
- In a British mindset, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark are usually included, often with the addition of Iceland and Finland.
These alternative meanings are considered incorrect in the local languages, and occasionally some people may take offense by such usage in English.
The term the Nordic countries is used unambiguously for the Scandinavian kingdoms of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and the republics of Finland and Iceland.
Outside of Europe, the Netherlands are sometimes mistakenly considered Scandinavian as well. The reason for this seems to be confusion with Denmark; both are small Teutonic countries bordering the North Sea, and the adjectives Dutch and Danish are a bit alike. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scandinavia [Oct 2004]
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