this post was submitted on 04 Nov 2024
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[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 week ago (2 children)

It's less of a legal distinction and more of a definition thing. He is objectively using the wrong word.

It would not be incorrect to refer to the people of Puerto Ricans as a nation by the definition of the word. The word nation does not refer to a place but a group of people.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

Both words refer to both concepts.

country

  1. A nation or state. 
  2. The territory of a nation or state; land. 
  3. The people of a nation or state; populace.

nation

  1. A relatively large group of people organized under a single, usually independent government; a country. 
  2. The territory occupied by such a group of people.
  3. The government of a sovereign state.
[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 week ago (1 children)

This definition is not fully correct. A nation does not need to have a government. For example the Kurds

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

Yes but my point is that he’s not using the wrong word.

Edit: also Kurdistan exists

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Kurdistan doesn't really have a central government like that, nor fixed or well defined borders. Keep in mind that the concept of a "Nation State" is really only a couple hundred years old.

If that counterexample doesn't satisfy you, then Somalia should. It is a country without a functioning government, which has two nations inside of them of the northern and southern Somalians which are completely different, and neither of which have any sort of unifying government.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 days ago (1 children)

That’s your point though, isn’t it?

The “people” and the “territory” are not the same thing, but both words “country” and “nation” are used more or less interchangeably to apply to either.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 5 days ago (1 children)

The words country and nation are absolutely not interchangeable, no matter how lay people use the terms.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 5 days ago

You’re a prescriptivist then I take it.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 week ago

They used the right word in common speak, any other word would feel out of place.