The largest village in the world is extremely large. It
occupies nearly 10 million square kilometres, and has a coastline on three
oceans, its total length being more than 200,000 kilometres. It is a
well-populated village, being home to more than 34 million people.
If you haven’t guessed by now, the village’s name is Canada.
But hang on, you might say, Canada is a country, not a village!
Allow me to explain:
In 1535 the French explorer Jacques Cartier proceeded up the
St Lawrence River into Iroquois country. He came to a village set on a high
promontory, which he renamed Montreal, or “Royal Mountain”. He asked the
Iroquois if they had a name for the whole area beyond the village, but there
was clearly a breakdown in communication because the Iroquois misunderstood the
question. They gave him the name “Canada”, which Cartier promptly inscribed on
his map.
However, although the name has been used for the whole
country ever since, the Iroquois word “Canada” only means “village”!
© John Welford
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