Idle subjects, but hey.
Not allowed are things like, “The blahblahblah division of Her Majesty’s blahblahblah etc.”
Name should be freestanding.
A nice sad-eyed girl I just met at Barnes & Noble told me that such along official name was a claim to fame of Rhode Island. I’ll have to take her word for it.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has a pretty long name.
The city of Bangkok.
Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Ayuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit
Well, according to above cite, we have a winner “for any geographic location.”
The city of angels, the great city, the residence of the Emerald Buddha, the impregnable city (of Ayutthaya) of God Indra, the grand capital of the world endowed with nine precious gems, the happy city, abounding in an enormous Royal Palace that resembles the heavenly abode where reigns the reincarnated god, a city given by Indra and built by Vishnukarn.
But I refuse to see this tread peeter out yet.
Plus, a contemporary Thai speaker today would not even be able to understand that phrase.
Top 5 Longest Place Names in the World
(ETA: Gives honorable mention to Bangkok.)
If we’re talking states of the USA, I’d say The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations would fit the bill.
Or you could, like, check Wikipedia: State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. (No entry for nice, sad-eyed girl, though.)
ETA: Damn you to hell, jayjay!
Reminds me of a song about a gentleman named Eddie Kushi Katchi Kama Tosa Nira Tosa Noka Sama Kama Wacky Brown.
The original official name of Los Angeles was El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Angeles del Río de Porciúncula (The Town of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels of the River of Porciuncula).
For “longest,” do you mean most letters or most syllables? And do you count the offical names or the ones people really use when they refer to a place?
The Welsh one (#2 in the link) is usually just Llanfair PG in common speech, 4 syllables, shorter than Llanfihangel Genau’r Glyn, 7 syllables in speech.
I’ve never heard anyone say anything other than “Rhode Island” in speech, though the long version is well known. “South Carolina” (5 syllables) is longer in common use.
My old Guinness Book of Records mentioned Sutton-under-Whitestonecliffe as the longest non-contrived place name in Britain.
[bloding mine]
You say whatever the hell that is, I say “tautmata.”
By the way, Lake Chargoggagoggmanchaugagoggchaubunagungamaugg (which is right near the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations) supposedly means “Fishing place at the boundaries – neutral meeting ground.” (This was humorously translated as “You fish on your side of the lake, I fish on my side of the lake, nobody fish in the middle”.)
And they spelled it wrong on the sign.
Who can blame them?
Guy lands on desert island in middle of ocean. Finds three synagogues. Runs into island guy, who says there’s just him and one other guy, Moishe, on the island.
–But I don’t get it, there are two people here and you have three shuls?
–Well, one’s for me. One’s for him. The third one neither of us would be caught dead in.
(An elaboration of the “ask two Jews, get three opinions” line.)