# I found this interesting: There are only four countries on Earth with a one-syllable name. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 15, 2011, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-this-interesting-there-are-only-four-countries-on-earth-with-a-one-syllable-name/581967 "2011-05-15T05:54:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-this-interesting-there-are-only-four-countries-on-earth-with-a-one-syllable-name/581967/81 "2011-05-16T13:55:39Z")
> [@CitizenPained](#): > > I thought Siam was always si+am. > > If it were “sime”, then it would be one syllable…I’m still finding two in Siam…? Indeed. I’ve never heard anyone pronounce Siam with less than two syllables. “Si-am.” The Thais say “Sa-yahm” with a short duration on the first syllable but still two discrete syllables. This is the first time I’ve encountered this bizarre one-syllable notion. ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-this-interesting-there-are-only-four-countries-on-earth-with-a-one-syllable-name/581967/82 "2011-05-16T14:09:21Z")
> [@Ximenean](#): > > And just to add that if we take the Anglicised official country name (according to Wikipedia), I reckon the winners are Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (sixteen syllables) and Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (arguably seventeen, depending on how you pronounce “socialist”). Hmm…Democratic Republic of the Congo? edit: just saw your “federal”. Oops. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-this-interesting-there-are-only-four-countries-on-earth-with-a-one-syllable-name/581967/83 "2011-05-16T14:46:48Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > I got Chad, France, Spain, Guam, Greece, and Laos. > > At a very young age, I memorized the Animaniacs song “Countries of the World”. It’s been a great source of trivia busting ever since Me too! “United States, Canada, Mexico, Panama, Haiti, Jamaica, Peru / Republic Dominican, Cuba, Caribbean, Greenland, El Salvador too!” ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-this-interesting-there-are-only-four-countries-on-earth-with-a-one-syllable-name/581967/84 "2011-05-16T14:50:37Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > I’ve heard Israel as pronounced as \*Iz-Ree-Ul \*and _Iz-Ray-Al,_ but I have never heard it with two syllables like _Iz-Real_. That’s because its not real. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-this-interesting-there-are-only-four-countries-on-earth-with-a-one-syllable-name/581967/85 "2011-05-16T15:01:42Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > One syllable US City Names is also rare. Unless I misread the list, this [Wiki link](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Largest_US_cities) has > > Flint Michigan > > has the largest city with a total of one syllable. and it is 269th. Offhand, I can only think of York Pa, Rome Ga (and NY) with one syllable. Among native New Englanders, I usually hear the one-syllable pronunciation of Lowell, Massachusetts (slightly larger at #247). It rhymes with “bowl.” ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-this-interesting-there-are-only-four-countries-on-earth-with-a-one-syllable-name/581967/86 "2011-05-16T15:14:29Z")
My my my. Look at all the hanging Chads in this thread. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-this-interesting-there-are-only-four-countries-on-earth-with-a-one-syllable-name/581967/87 "2011-05-16T15:20:06Z")
^Look! It’s a joke from the year 2000! ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-this-interesting-there-are-only-four-countries-on-earth-with-a-one-syllable-name/581967/88 "2011-05-16T18:04:55Z")
Without looking at the thread or a map I came up with: France, Spain, Greece, Chad. Now off to read the thread and find out if Chad is still (or ever was) a country. ETA: Woohoo! I was right! ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-this-interesting-there-are-only-four-countries-on-earth-with-a-one-syllable-name/581967/89 "2011-05-16T18:57:10Z")
Greece, Spain, France, and Chad, with Laos a near miss. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2011, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-this-interesting-there-are-only-four-countries-on-earth-with-a-one-syllable-name/581967/90 "2011-05-16T19:34:39Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > In Thai, Thailand is called _Prathet Thai_, which literally means “Thai country,” so _Prathet_ or “Country” is more of an identifier. (They tack _Prathet_ onto the beginning of every country. _Prathet Farangset_ is “France Country.”) _Muang Thai_, or “Thai Homeland,” is also common. In both cases, the actual name would be just “Thai.” Hell, 75% of the [countries on Earth](http://static02.mediaite.com/geekosystem/uploads/2011/02/etymology-map.jpeg), I’d guess, have a “modifier” in them. Lands of the Uzbek, Land of the Roma, Land of the Finns, Land of the Deutsch, Northern Way, Land of the Fields (Poland), Land of the Somalis, Land of the Tanned (Mauritania), Rivers/Milled River/Crowning River (Peru, Uruguay, Paraguay), Little Islands, Southern Island, Ivory Coast, Central Nation (China), Land of the Rising Sun… So if you think “Land of the Thai” counts as a country name, then you’ll have to add most of the world to your list. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-this-interesting-there-are-only-four-countries-on-earth-with-a-one-syllable-name/581967/91 "2011-05-17T00:49:45Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > Hell, 75% of the [countries on Earth](http://static02.mediaite.com/geekosystem/uploads/2011/02/etymology-map.jpeg), I’d guess, have a “modifier” in them. Lands of the Uzbek, Land of the Roma, Land of the Finns, Land of the Deutsch, Northern Way, Land of the Fields (Poland), Land of the Somalis, Land of the Tanned (Mauritania), Rivers/Milled River/Crowning River (Peru, Uruguay, Paraguay), Little Islands, Southern Island, Ivory Coast, Central Nation (China), Land of the Rising Sun… > > So if you think “Land of the Thai” counts as a country name, then you’ll have to add most of the world to your list. Including England, which is really just Eng. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-this-interesting-there-are-only-four-countries-on-earth-with-a-one-syllable-name/581967/92 "2011-05-17T05:01:22Z")
Greece Spain Zaire dang, that name is extinct isn’t it? Oh wait, are we walking one-syllable names as those countries are known _in English_? I’m pretty sure España is not a one syllable name… Hell, I have no idea. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-this-interesting-there-are-only-four-countries-on-earth-with-a-one-syllable-name/581967/93 "2011-05-17T05:10:50Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > Zaire > dang, that name is extinct isn’t it? It’s not only extinct, it has two syllables. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-this-interesting-there-are-only-four-countries-on-earth-with-a-one-syllable-name/581967/94 "2011-05-17T05:35:42Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > It’s not only extinct, it has two syllables. So those WWI veterans who went around singing “over zaire”…? ---
**Author:** ![mac\_bolan00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b3f665/32.png) [@mac\_bolan00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mac_bolan00)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-this-interesting-there-are-only-four-countries-on-earth-with-a-one-syllable-name/581967/95 "2011-05-17T06:48:23Z")
thinking of miss universe and the globe, i can recall only three: chad france wales * * * laos and spain don’t make it, right? ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-this-interesting-there-are-only-four-countries-on-earth-with-a-one-syllable-name/581967/96 "2011-05-17T15:40:53Z")
> [@Maiira](#): > > Heh, Chad was the first and only one I thought of. It didn’t even occur to me to hit up Europe. :smack: LOL - same here! To be perfectly fair, however, one should consider the country’s name in its own language. What’s Chad’s native language? France would still be France in French. Spain would be, I believe, Espana (with the little thingy above the ‘n’). Greece would be, what, Hellene or something? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-this-interesting-there-are-only-four-countries-on-earth-with-a-one-syllable-name/581967/97 "2011-05-17T18:45:14Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > Greece would be, what, Hellene or something? It’s officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία) but it’s commonly called Hellada (Ελλάδα). ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-this-interesting-there-are-only-four-countries-on-earth-with-a-one-syllable-name/581967/98 "2011-05-17T22:33:08Z")
I got Chad instantly, then France and Spain a few minutes later, though I wasn’t 100% sure they counted France as a one-syllable word. Maybe two hours later I finally got Greece. Then I read the thread. > [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Haha! A Brit of my acquaintance visibly restrained himself from ripping me a new asshole once when I facetiously made a similar comparison. He did let me know in no uncertain terms that Wales, Scotland etc were all separate countries banded together under the UK. The reason why Wales isn’t included, of course, since it is in fact a one-syllable word, is that despite having officially the title of “country”, it is not an _independent_ country, being part of the UK. Its relationship to the UK is in fact similar to the relationship Canada’s provinces, or the US or Australia’s states, have with the independent country they belong to, with some differences. Mainly that Canada, the US and Australia are federal states, which the UK isn’t really even when it’s experimenting with a model of devolution of powers. So Wales is less autonomous than the federal subjects of federal states. **Siam Sam** ’s acquaintance, I suppose, just believes his country is unique and cannot be in any way compared to any other country. Like many other people in this world, actually. And I did think of Laos while I was thinking about the question, but I decided that it was pronounced LAY-os in English, which has two syllables. I have no problem believing that it has only one syllable in its national language. Zaire I would probably pronounce za-EERE, but in any case it’s not called that anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2011, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-this-interesting-there-are-only-four-countries-on-earth-with-a-one-syllable-name/581967/99 "2011-05-18T03:13:39Z")
> [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](#): > > **Siam Sam** ’s acquaintance, I suppose, just believes his country is unique and cannot be in any way compared to any other country. Like many other people in this world, actually. Actually, he was English from London and not Welsh. ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2011, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-this-interesting-there-are-only-four-countries-on-earth-with-a-one-syllable-name/581967/100 "2011-05-18T13:05:11Z")
Yeah, by “his country” I meant the UK, not Wales. 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-this-interesting-there-are-only-four-countries-on-earth-with-a-one-syllable-name/581967.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-found-this-interesting-there-are-only-four-countries-on-earth-with-a-one-syllable-name/581967.md?page=6)