The Origins of American state names

I think it’s interesting to know the origins of American State names.

I’ll give you a list with the fifty states of north America and their name’s origins.

State	Origin	Meaning
Alabama	Choctaw	‘I open the thicket’
Alaska	Eskimo	‘great land’
Arizona	Papago	‘place of the small spring’
Arkansas	Sioux	‘land of the south wind people’
California	Spanish	‘earthly paradise’
Colorado	Spanish	‘red’
Connecticut	Mohican	‘at the long tidal river’
Delaware	Named after the English governor Lord de la Warr
Florida	Spanish	‘land of flowers’
Georgia	Named after king George II
Hawaii	Hawaiian	‘homeland’
Idaho	Shoshone	‘light on the mountains’
Illinois	French	‘warriors’
Indiana	English	‘land of the Indians’
Iowa	Dakota	‘the sleepy one’
Kansas	Sioux	‘land of the south wind people’
Kentucky	Iroquois	‘meadow land’
Louisiana	Named after King Louis XIV of France
Maine	Named after a French province
Maryland	Named after Henrietta Maria, Charles I’s queen
Massachusetts	Algonquian	‘place of the big hill’
Michigan	Chippewa	‘big water’
Minnesota	Dakota Sioux	‘sky-coloured water’
Mississippi	Chipewa	‘big river’
Missouri	Probably French	‘muddy water’
Montana	Spanish	‘mountainous’
Nebraska	Omaha	‘river in the flatness’
Nevada	Spanish	‘snowy’
New Hampshire	Named after Hampshire, England
New Jersey	Named after Jersey (Channel Islands)
New Mexico	Named after Mexico.
New York	Named after the Duke of York
North Carolina	Named after King Charles II
North Dakota	Sioux	‘friend’
Ohio	Iroquois	‘beautiful water’
Oklahoma	Choctaw	‘red people’
Oregon	Possibly Algonquian	‘beaver place’
Pennsylvania	Named after Quaker William Penn + Latin for ‘woodland’
Rhode Island	Dutch	‘red clay’ island
South Carolina	Named after King Charles II
South Dakota	Sioux	‘friend’
Tennessee	Name of a Cherokee settlement
Texas	Spanish	‘allies’
Utah	Possibly Navaho	‘upper land’
Vermont	French	‘green mountain’
Virginia	Named after Queen Elizabeth I
Washington	Named after George Washington
West Virginia	Derived from Virginia
Wisconsin	Possibly Algonquian	‘grassy place’
Wyoming	Algonquian	‘place of the big flats’

Source:

‘’The English Language’’, David Crystal.

By: Patricia Domínguez

Native Americans

The History of Native Americans is very interesting and at the same time tragic. 

Between 10 and 90 million Native Americans inhabited America when the Europeans arrived. They have been called Indians, American Indians, but they now prefer Native Americans. They formed a lot of tribes around the land.

During the time the Europeans arrived, the native Americans saw it with enthusiasm but in time, the Europeans disregarded all respect for the valued land and resources and instead displayed insatiable greed and arrogance. The Europeans soon pursued their intent to conquer this new continent with brutal attacks and invasions. 

Due to the illnesses the Europeans brought, the native American population decreased. Important battles occurred in this time. The term 'American Indian Wars' is used to describe these conflicts between The native people of North America and American settlers or the federal government.

An important figure related to this was Tecumseh, who, with his brother Tenkswatawa, organized Tecumseh's War, another resistance to American expansion. Tecumseh formed an alliance with the British, and he took part in the War of 1812.

The Native American people not only were reduced in number but also were taken from their homes, stripped of their customs and even forbidden to speak their native languages. 
In 1876, the U.S. government forced them to live on 'reservations' where the native Americans still live today.

On September 13, 2007 The United Nations adopted a Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous peoples, which includes language rights. 

Here, I show you videos about some features of two examples of native american language:  Mvskoke, the Creek Indian language, and Mobilian, a form of Choctaw, once spoken from the South Carolina coast to the plains of Texas.

Source:
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfTYNyFV_RkTWcahhFX8aa-ecJ5OXBEsS6f06DBATLDMZKJnX0TKOyePgKm0182JeE5AiBepW5XpKE7ynabItLAbL2sBG088bocSOrzZHdC5UKveihvaf_Cn9y4lySnLxbJgBY8y7jA3s/s1600/Finding-native-America.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Indian_Wars
http://www.allabouthistory.org/native-american-history.htm

By: Patricia Domínguez.

Colloquial American English II

As I said in my previous post, here is the new one about colloquial English; the English people speak in the street. The expression "oh my God" is very used to express surprise but some people prefer to say "oh my Gosh" just to avoid the word God just for religious reasons. Also, one can easily hear the expression "onh my goodness" also to avoid the word God.


Another term we could hear in our daily life if we lived in any city of America is "I don't give a damn". This term is a little bit rude but it is used a lot and it just means something like "I don't care for whatever". For example, one can say "I don't give a damn what you are saying" to express that you don't really want to hear what someone is saying.


Another saying in American English is "go to your happy place". This expression is used when someone is a little bit blue (which means sad) and we want them to be happy. It means something like "go to the place you always have fun and chill out". Also, chill out(which means relax or calm down) can be said in a lot of way. Some of them are be cool, cool it or just cool.


In English there are not a lot of ways just to express fear but  screams or bad language. I have been looking for expressions and sayings and the most common I found is "to freak out". For example, you can say "Sarah freaked out when she saw the skeleton.

Also, in the academic life, specially in high schools, if any student is a good one, he or she is usually called nerd or nerdy. It is also a stereotype because even if someone is not a good student and wears big black glasses and is well mannered, he or she would also be consider a nerd.

I hope you liked this post. If you have any question just let me know. 

By: Francisco Manuel Alfonso Sánchez