Suppose Jan is born in the Netherlands and visits Guam (U.S. territory,) the Cayman Islands (British territory), Azores (Portuguese territory) and Reunion (French territory.)
Now, a friend asks one day, “Jan, how many countries have you been to?” Should Jan reply 1, 5, or some other answer?
Whether you consider visiting Guam to be a visit to the US or not, it certainly isn’t the Netherlands. Jan visited some other country; whether you want to call it the US or Guam is immaterial.
Four. She hasn’t “been to” the Netherlands - that’s where she’s from. You can’t have been to where you are at.
When we vacation in St Martin/Sint Maarten, we are technically visiting a French territory and a Netherlands territory. If asked what country I vacationed in, I say St Martin.
So, 5.
Netherlands inclusive, I would say five, but I voted “other” because I may clarify. If someone asked me if I’ve ever been in Portugal (but I’ve only visited the Azores), I would say that I’ve been to the Azores, and if they want to count it or not, it’s up to them, and if they want to count that as a country or not, it’s up to them. For ordinary conversational purposes, I would count all the locales in the OP as countries.
Four
Réunion is part of France.
Edited to add: and the Azores are part of Portugal.
Trick question: Do France and the Netherlands share a land border?
Yes, they do - on the island of Saint Martin in the Caribbean.
I agree. I think the more interesting question would: Jan lives in the Netherlands. On her first and only trip outside of her native country, she visited Guam and Hawaii. How many countries has Jan been to in her lifetime?
She will have her passport stamped “Guam” and “USA”.
In other words, they’re like Hawaii or Alaska in that they’re integral parts of the country that just happen to be separated by ocean (or another country in Alaska’s case). The same is not true of Guam and Caymans.
Saint-Martin is also part of France, though a different status than Réunion (collectivity vs. region and department). Sint Maarten is a little different - they have their own government, run their own elections, use non-Euro currency. I suspect they’d be more able to declare independence, if they wanted to. But they are still a part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Am I the only one that assumed Jan is male?
No.
And I pronounced it as “Yahn”
Funny part, Jan is my middle name, too.
I assumed that while traveling around the world she kept saying “Marcia, Marcia, Marcia.”
No. In the Netherlands you assume Jan is a man.
I would say 5, and count her birth country as one of them, as she has obviously been to it.
“Country” is a flexible term. England, Scotland and Wales are three distinct countries, but they are all part of one state, the United Kingdom. Ireland is one country, but part of it is in one state - the Republic of Ireland - and the rest of it is in another - the UK. But the Republic of Ireland can also be called a country.
Furthermore, usage differs somewhat as between British English and American English. Because the US sub-national divisions are called “states”, AmE tends to avoid using “state” for an internationally sovereign entity, and prefers “country”, and therefore tends to avoid “country” for entities that are not internationally sovereign. Whereas in BrE, depending on context, “country” can refer to an internationally sovereign entity or to a territory defined not by sovereignty or other political concepts, but by historical, geographical or cultural concepts. The United Kindgom is a country. England is a country within the United Kingdom. The West Country is an area of south west England. Hardy country is that part of England associated with the novels of Thomas Hardy. Bronte country is associated with the writings of the Bronte sisters. And so forth.
Is Guam a country? I don’t know the place well, but I’d say yes. Culturally, ethinicallu, etc, it’s quite distinct from the mainland US, and politically it is not part of the US. Do the Guamese consider Guam to be a country?
My definition of a “country” includes any non-sovereign territory that meets one of the following criteria:
Sol Guam meets both criteria, so would count. But not Hawaii, which does not.
The ones that I count include Guam, Gibraltar, French Guiana, St. Pierre-Miquelon, Curacao, Hong Kong, Macao, Madeira, Akrotiti, Reunion.
I also count several entities that are diplomatically recognized as a part of a country, but function in practice as a separate country, including Somaliland, Transdniestria, Palestine, Turkish Northern Cyprus, Scotland, Wales.
None. Jan is from the Netherlands and has never set foot in mainland anywhere else. So zero.