Lower Slobbovia (geog.)

[Mark Odegard]

From: L oki
>Check the map, and you'll find Outer Mongolia (now simply Mongolia) in the
>center of Asia, while Inner Mongolia is a vaguely-defined region _outside_
>of Mongolia.

I think I've been convinced about the etiology of 'Lower Slobbovia'. Yes,
the 'outer' of Outer Mongolia is probably decisive: Mongolia, be it Inner or
Outer really is the most remote place on the Earth. At the same time, it's
impossible to deny the influence of Slovenia, Slavonia, Slovakia, Serbia,
and even Sorbia, with some mid 20c imagery of benightedly backward Balkan
boyars bellowing brightly bucolic barbarisms (a cross between _Ninotchka_,
_The Merry Widow_ and _Nanook of the North_).

Here's another one. In English the German state is West Mecklenberg. In
German, it's Mecklenberg-Vorpommern. I think 'Vorpommern' is, roughly, 'Near
Pomerania'. Another wonderful European geonym is Ostrobothnia, which takes
an explanation of what 'Bothnia' if you are to unravel the origin of the
name (it's cognate with English 'bottom', 'bottom of the waters of the Ocean
Sea', furthest waters of the ocean').


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