Americans are well known for lack of world geographic knowledge. Besides our Canada and Mexico neighbors, the only other countries we are more familiar with are probably through war, from Korea and Vietnam to Iraq and Afghanistan. The other opportunities that we get exposure to a unfamilar foreign country name are through international events, especially sports. Recent FIFA World Cup caught my interest in Netherlands, as Holland and Dutch are also used almost interchangeably on the TV. So I have to do some research to find out what's really behind the names.
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located in North-West Europe. In the 15th century, the name Nederlanden came in use which literally means 'Low countries' or 'Lowlands'.
The Netherlands is often referred to as Holland, although it is only the central-western region of the country comprising two of its twelve provinces, North and South Holland. Historically Holland was the most powerful region in the current Netherlands. Today it remains politically, economically and demographically dominant, including the cities of Amsterdam, The Hague and Rotterdam – and 37% of the Dutch population. The name 'Holland' for the Netherlands is used colloquially by the Dutch themselves, especially in relation to football, where the national team is sometimes cheered on with the cry 'Holland!' The name is used in international promotion, too, because 'Holland' is the best known worldwide.
Finally, 'Dutch' refers to the people of the Netherlands and their language, and is used as an adjective meaning 'coming from or belonging to the Netherlands'.
Good luck with the World Cup, Holland.
Or should we say "Go Dutch!"?
After beating Denmark (2-0), Japan (1-0), Cameroon (2-1) and Slovakia (2-1) in the 2010 World FIFA world Cup, the Netherlands rallied to upset five-time champion Brazil 2-1 in the World Cup quarterfinals on July 2, 2010. Now it is only two wins away from the championship title.
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