Countries ending in istan

It shares a suffix with AfghanistanTajikistanand Turkmenistan. But, what does it mean? In most of these titles, the first part of the name refers to an ethnic group that lives in the nation: the Afghans or Afghanisthe Kyrgyzetc. There are countless regions within other countries whose names or toponyms end countries ending in istan —stansuch as Tatarstana republic in central Russia.

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev doesn't like the name Kazakhstan. At the same time, foreigners take an interest in Mongolia, the population of which makes up only two million, but its name does not end in '-stan,'" he told onlookers while visiting a school in Atyrau, according to his official website. This isn't Nazarbayev's first foray into nomenclature. The president, a septuagenarian autocrat who has led Kazakhstan since the Soviet Union's dissolution in , has built up quite a cult of personality after years of one-party rule. In , he moved the nation's capital from Almaty, the country's largest city, to Akmola, a small town deep in the Kazakh steppe, and renamed it Astana—literally "capital" in Kazakh. The generic name is suspected to be a placeholder for Nursultan, his own name, but Nazarbayev has graciously delayed naming the city after him until he dies. Renaming an entire country is an even bolder move by Nazarbayev, but it isn't uncommon worldwide.

Countries ending in istan

If you have ever mistaken Kazakhstan for Kyrgyzstan or tripped over the pronunciation of Turkmenistan, you aren't alone. With names that sound like a playground tongue twister, it's no surprise that the cluster of countries in Central and South Asia is often referred to as the "Seven Stans" or 'Stan Countries'. But where does this shared suffix come from and why can you find it around all around the world? So, Kazakhstan means 'land of the Kazakhs, Tajikistan is 'land of the Tajiks', and so on. When thinking about how languages evolved, it's easiest to imagine a tree. One of these trees is called 'Indo-European', which branches out in eight directions, including Germanic, Italic, Helenic and Inod-Iranian. Like any good tree, these branches subdivide out into dozens of languages. For example, follow a Germanic language like Saxon, and you eventually reach English. Follow Indo-Iranian to Iranian and you'll find Persian. You'll also find Hindi-Urdu and Pashto, which are the respective official languages of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Across the entire Indo-European tree, the root '-sta' means 'to stand', meaning the Seven Stans are the only countries but not the only places with this suffix. In Russia, -stan means "settlement", and you can find republics like Dagestan and Tatarstan. Pakistan was named less than a century ago. In , the country was named an acronym of its constituent cultures: Punjabi, Afghani, Kashmiri, Sindhi and Balochistan. An additional 'I' was added to help pronunciation.

This isn't Nazarbayev's first foray into nomenclature. Where does Australia rank? Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

The suffix appears in the names of many regions throughout West , Central and South Asia , and parts of the Caucasus and Russia. The derived suffix -standar or ostandar was used for administrative titles of -stan governors in Iran when the country was led by the Sasanian dynasty. The suffix -stan is analogous to the suffix -land , present in many country and location names. Originally an independent noun, this morpheme evolved into a suffix by virtue of appearing frequently as the last part in nominal compounds. It is of Indo-Iranian and ultimately Indo-European origin. Some of these nations were also known with the Latinate suffix -ia during their time as Soviet republics : Turkmenistan was frequently Turkmenia , Kyrgyzstan often Kirghizia , and even Uzbekistan was very rarely Uzbekia. Ethiopia and Eritrea.

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev doesn't like the name Kazakhstan. At the same time, foreigners take an interest in Mongolia, the population of which makes up only two million, but its name does not end in '-stan,'" he told onlookers while visiting a school in Atyrau, according to his official website. This isn't Nazarbayev's first foray into nomenclature. The president, a septuagenarian autocrat who has led Kazakhstan since the Soviet Union's dissolution in , has built up quite a cult of personality after years of one-party rule. In , he moved the nation's capital from Almaty, the country's largest city, to Akmola, a small town deep in the Kazakh steppe, and renamed it Astana—literally "capital" in Kazakh. The generic name is suspected to be a placeholder for Nursultan, his own name, but Nazarbayev has graciously delayed naming the city after him until he dies. Renaming an entire country is an even bolder move by Nazarbayev, but it isn't uncommon worldwide. Rhodesia was originally named for the British man who colonized it, but became Zimbabwe when white-minority rule ended in the s. The military junta in Burma renamed the country Myanmar in after seizing power, although many opposition groups, foreign governments, and media outlets do not recognize the name change.

Countries ending in istan

I believe it is a regional thing, not an Islamic one, since the home of Islam is in countries like Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Syria, Egypt, etc. Like in the other thread mentioned, Indians Hindus also refer to India as Hindustan where stan is literally, location. Meaning a place to stay, an abode. Literally, the place where things stay. From Bosnia through Turkey, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and Afghanistan, to Pakistan and India, the Persian language for centuries was the language of high culture and belles lettres. The Ottoman Turkish, Chaghatai forerunner of Uzbek , and Urdu languages were all replete with tons and tons of Persian loanwords. The literary and poetic forms in all these countries imitated the Persian models. Even Hindi and other Indian languages use huge amounts of Persian loanwords to this day.

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In the U. Retrieved 28 October Provinces of Pakistan. The suffix -stan is not just found in the names of established places. Rajasthan [n 3]. Matt Ford is a former associate editor at The Atlantic. Archived from the original on 25 October Discover more with our weekly newsletter. Share this post now:. In the comic strip, Berzerkistan is a fictional republic run by a genocidal maniac.

The suffix appears in the names of many regions throughout West , Central and South Asia , and parts of the Caucasus and Russia. The derived suffix -standar or ostandar was used for administrative titles of -stan governors in Iran when the country was led by the Sasanian dynasty.

Rajasthan Pratisthan. Districts of Azerbaijan. Be sure to try a samsa, which looks similar to an Indian samosa, or the succulent shashlik kebabs. Discover more with our weekly newsletter. A practical Sanskrit dictionary with transliteration, accentuation, and etymological analysis throughout. In the U. It is of Indo-Iranian and ultimately Indo-European origin. Palgrave Macmillan. The gas craters are a natural gas field that was set on fire by geologists to prevent the spread of methane gas and the craters have been burning continuously since Archived from the original PDF on 10 August Kohistan North Waziristan South Waziristan. Other countries that have first-level divisions whose names in English have the suffix -stan. Across the entire Indo-European tree, the root '-sta' means 'to stand', meaning the Seven Stans are the only countries but not the only places with this suffix. With names that sound like a playground tongue twister, it's no surprise that the cluster of countries in Central and South Asia is often referred to as the "Seven Stans" or 'Stan Countries'. Burastan Dzorastan Mrgastan Aygestan.