And the correct name in all contexts that matter is "Lake Ontario".
It's almost as if people don't know that "Ontario" is not a Canadian name, it's a native American one, and the province is named after the lake, not the other way around.
It was called "Lake Ontario" before Canada or the US even existed.
One thing that does seem to be incorrect is that Google has a single name on the lake - Lake America, when surely that only applies to the American half. The US-Canadian border runs down the middle of the lake, so unless I'm missing something Trump's renaming only applies to the American half, and the correct way for Google to show it would be with different names for each half of the lake.
That's ridiculous! How do you rename half of a lake!
I say that there are two lakes. It remains for future generations to decide how the two lakes are apportioned. Perhaps each of them are coterminous, with the same boundaries, size and volume, but one is named "Lake America" and one is not. One is a lake in US waters, and the other is in some foreign country.
Perhaps of the two lakes, they are split in twain, and there is an international border running through the middle of these two distinct bodies of water. Perhaps vessels will littorally obtain right of passage in international waters, and undergo customs inspections before they can cross over the somewhat amorphous border between Lake Ontario and Lake America, and vice versa.
That's not really how local naming works. I call Germany Germany but the Germans call it Deutschland. There's not two Germany's, there's just one and I have a different name for it. It really doesn't matter if a geographic object is completely inside, partially inside, or completely outside a country's borders, they have an official or de facto name for it that could differ from what you call it.
If Google maps, or anyone else, is just going to label things in other countries according to the whims of Trump, then where does it end?
If Trump tells Google, and spends taxpayer money, to "officially rename" Ottawa itself "Poopietown", then should they do it?
Maybe we need a constitutional amendment to remove the president's power over place names, given that the founding fathers only considered a malevolent president, not one with the brain of a 5 year old.
You joke, but of course that is exactly the direction we're heading in, where a previously friendly border, both on land and in the water, becomes a hostile one where full border formalities do apply.
I remember years ago driving across the border at Niagara Falls, and just being waved though, no passport required, when I said I was just on a day trip.
Comments
Inside the US. In the rest of the world, it shows the correct name.
True for now, but here in the UK I still see 'Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America)'
The correct name depends on your context. I know it’s unpopular but it’s true.
True!
And the correct name in all contexts that matter is "Lake Ontario".
It's almost as if people don't know that "Ontario" is not a Canadian name, it's a native American one, and the province is named after the lake, not the other way around.
It was called "Lake Ontario" before Canada or the US even existed.
I completely understand and respect that , but the reality is that the U.S. governments opinion matters, even if you don’t like the leadership.
One thing that does seem to be incorrect is that Google has a single name on the lake - Lake America, when surely that only applies to the American half. The US-Canadian border runs down the middle of the lake, so unless I'm missing something Trump's renaming only applies to the American half, and the correct way for Google to show it would be with different names for each half of the lake.
That's ridiculous! How do you rename half of a lake!
I say that there are two lakes. It remains for future generations to decide how the two lakes are apportioned. Perhaps each of them are coterminous, with the same boundaries, size and volume, but one is named "Lake America" and one is not. One is a lake in US waters, and the other is in some foreign country.
Perhaps of the two lakes, they are split in twain, and there is an international border running through the middle of these two distinct bodies of water. Perhaps vessels will littorally obtain right of passage in international waters, and undergo customs inspections before they can cross over the somewhat amorphous border between Lake Ontario and Lake America, and vice versa.
That's not really how local naming works. I call Germany Germany but the Germans call it Deutschland. There's not two Germany's, there's just one and I have a different name for it. It really doesn't matter if a geographic object is completely inside, partially inside, or completely outside a country's borders, they have an official or de facto name for it that could differ from what you call it.
1) Whoooooosh!
2) You really had to choose that country? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Germany
If Google maps, or anyone else, is just going to label things in other countries according to the whims of Trump, then where does it end?
If Trump tells Google, and spends taxpayer money, to "officially rename" Ottawa itself "Poopietown", then should they do it?
Maybe we need a constitutional amendment to remove the president's power over place names, given that the founding fathers only considered a malevolent president, not one with the brain of a 5 year old.
You joke, but of course that is exactly the direction we're heading in, where a previously friendly border, both on land and in the water, becomes a hostile one where full border formalities do apply.
I remember years ago driving across the border at Niagara Falls, and just being waved though, no passport required, when I said I was just on a day trip.