North America, South America, Africa, Europe, Asia, Antarctica and...

[Spy Car]

Oceania is too 1984 for me.

 

Doubleplusungood? :D

 

Bill

[Spy Car]

i hadn't heard of oceania either until this thread. also how is it pronounced?

 

oh shee yah nee yuh

oh shen ee yuh

oh shen yuh

oh shee yah nyuh

 

and why are they called continental breakfasts?

 

oh see ann KNEE uh

 

Bill

[Jean in Newcastle]

i hadn't heard of oceania either until this thread. also how is it pronounced?

 

oh shee yah nee yuh

oh shen ee yuh

oh shen yuh

oh shee yah nyuh

 

and why are they called continental breakfasts?

 

I say it oh shee yah nah.

 

Continental breakfasts are what are eaten on the continent (ie. Europe) as opposed to what was eaten in Britain.

[Peela]

Oceania is not a continent. It's just a way of descibing a certain part of the world that the northern hemisphere tends to forget is down here- and bunch us all together. Oceania is made up of a bunch of islands including the CONTINENT of Australia (which is just a big island- big enough to be called a continent).

I think the whole Oceania thing is just political. Most of us in Australia relate to being Australians, not Oceanians.

But if you are talking parts of the world rather than continents...well, I can go with Oceania for that, geographically speaking.

[Spy Car]

Oceania is not a continent. It's just a way of descibing a certain part of the world that the northern hemisphere tends to forget is down here- and bunch us all together. Oceania is made up of a bunch of islands including the CONTINENT of Australia (which is just a big island- big enough to be called a continent).

I think the whole Oceania thing is just political. Most of us in Australia relate to being Australians, not Oceanians.

But if you are talking parts of the world rather than continents...well, I can go with Oceania for that, geographically speaking.

 

But Mrs Mungo says these other areas are geologically part of the same continent as Australia, is that so Peela (in sunny Oceania)?

 

Bill (in sunny California)

[Melissa in Australia]

But Mrs Mungo says these other areas are geologically part of the same continent as Australia,

Bill (in sunny California)

 

I respectfully disagree with Mrs Mungo (sorry). There is no way Hawaii is part of the North American continent. It is a bunch of small islands way out in the ocean. It doesn't belong to any continent.

[Dawn in OH]

Australia.

 

Are they now referring to it is Oceania in the U.S.? I really wouldn't know since we really don't know any kids that aren't homeschooled. I was surprised two years ago when teaching first grade geography to find out there was a 5th ocean according to some sources.

[Spy Car]

I respectfully disagree with Mrs Mungo (sorry). There is no way Hawaii is part of the North American continent. It is a bunch of small islands way out in the ocean. It doesn't belong to any continent.

 

Somebody has to be a voice of authority. If not Melville, or Mrs Mungo then who?

 

This is a classical education forum for pete's sake.

 

Bill

[x02100sks]

I'm not making stuff up, people. Continents do NOT have to be one connected land mass. Hawaii and Greenland ARE part of the North American continent as far as geography is concerned. New Zealand IS part of the Australia/Oceania continent. New Zealand is NOT its own continent! Japan is NOT its own continent, it is part of Asia! ALSO, Europe and Asia are *different* continents even though they are part of the same landmass.

 

These are not debatable points! Sure, Oceania v. Australia, that is debatable. Whether or not New Zealand is its own continent? Not debatable. It just isn't.

 

I find this rather definitive assertion odd as it seems to insist upon a consistent definition of continent which I simply cannot find:

while the common English speaking convention is 7 continents...varying definitions- generally defined as a landmass- may reduce the total number of continents to as low as 4: Afro-Eurasia, America, Australia/Oceania, Australia.

www.worldatlas.com notes that both the combination of N./S. America into one continent and Europe/Asia into one continent are rather common. Further- Hawaii is politically part of North America, but geographically it is not.

While this may not be the most scholarly source...I think it certainly conveys that the definition of continent is indeed debatable.

[Willow]

New Zealand chiming in here.

 

New Zealand is NOT part of Australia.....

 

We are independent of any continent. We just are. Mind you geographically half the country is setting off towards Australia (continent) and the other half is heading towards Antarctica, (another continent)!

 

The middle of the south is just wobbling about of course.

 

Willow.

[rootsnwings]

K, I thought the continents were dependent upon the plates (think plate tectonics). That's how the UK is part of Europe & Hawaii is part of N America. Yes, there are more plates than continents but I think certain plates (& all landmasses therein) are associated with each continent. I used to work in GIS (Geographical Information Systems) & this is my understanding.

 

HTH! :)

[Corraleno]

i hadn't heard of oceania either until this thread. also how is it pronounced?

It's pronounced "oh shee AN ee yuh." You can hear several audio/dictionary pronunciations here.

 

What about Japan and the Britain and Ireland? Same deal?

Traditionally, Britain and Ireland didn't consider themselves part of the continent of Europe (hence references to the rest of Europe as "The Continent"), and despite the EU, Brits still make a cultural distinction between themselves and "continental" Europeans. Geographically, if you count the boundary of the "continent" as the edge of the Continental Shelf, then Britain and Ireland are part of the continent of Europe.

 

IMHO there is no geographic justification for lumping tens of thousands of Pacific Islands, along with Australia, into the "continent" of Oceania, although I can see that there might be a cultural reason for doing so. I wish people would just drop the term "continent" except as it relates continental plates, and use the term "geographic region" (or something similar) instead.

 

I'm not making stuff up, people. Continents do NOT have to be one connected land mass. Hawaii and Greenland ARE part of the North American continent as far as geography is concerned.

I'm afraid Hawaii is not part of North America. It may be part of the U.S. politically, but geographically it's part of Polynesia, and Polynesia is part of Oceania. Traditionally the three areas of Oceania were Polynesia, Micronesia, and Melanesia, and they weren't considered part of any continent — because they're islands. But now that some people are calling Oceania a "continent," Australia (or Australia/New Guinea) is sometimes added as the 4th region.

 

Jackie

(ex-anthropologist, who spent time in Fiji, Tonga, and New Zealand back when Oceania was a cultural region not a continent)

Edited October 14, 2010 by Corraleno

[Slartibartfast]

New Zealand chiming in here.

 

New Zealand is NOT part of Australia.....

 

We are independent of any continent. We just are. Mind you geographically half the country is setting off towards Australia (continent) and the other half is heading towards Antarctica, (another continent)!

 

The middle of the south is just wobbling about of course.

 

Willow.

 

That sounds like a Texan saying it is a "whole 'nother country," if you will pardon the expression.

 

http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/au.htm

[Sebastian (a lady)]

I think at least some of the movement toward refering to the region as Oceania stems from the way that sports qualifiers are grouped. I first heard Oceania in common usage as part of FIFA qualifiers.

[Peela]

But Mrs Mungo says these other areas are geologically part of the same continent as Australia, is that so Peela (in sunny Oceania)?

 

Bill (in sunny California)

 

Well...I don't really know. But are we then just talking tectonic plates or something? I just googled briefly and didn't find and reference to that- in fact, I didn't see any reason for calling us that at all other than perhaps convenience to bunch us together. In this article it is called a "continental area". wisegeek.com/what-is-oceania.htm

I susepct there is no definitive answer to this one, BIll...you may have to settle with "there are various opinions."

[Melissa in Australia]

That sounds like a Texan saying it is a "whole 'nother country," if you will pardon the expression.

 

 

 

:confused: New Zealand IS a whole other country. It is completely different from Australia.

[Melissa in Australia]

 

IMHO there is no geographic justification for lumping tens of thousands of Pacific Islands, along with Australia, into the "continent" of Oceania, although I can see that there might be a cultural reason for doing so. I wish people would just drop the term "continent" except as it relates continental plates, and use the term "geographic region" (or something similar) instead.

 

 

Jackie

(ex-anthropologist, who spent time in Fiji, Tonga, and New Zealand back when Oceania was a cultural region not a continent)

Loved your post.

One thing though, I cannot see any cultural reason to lump all the Pacific Islands in with Australia for cultural reasons. All the pacific Islands have Polynesians as their indigenous population , including New Zealand. The Australian indigenous people are not Polynesians.

[Slartibartfast]

:confused: New Zealand IS a whole other country. It is completely different from Australia.

 

It is a figure of speech.

[stripe]

I'm not making stuff up, people. Continents do NOT have to be one connected land mass. Hawaii and Greenland ARE part of the North American continent as far as geography is concerned.

I am curious, what about the European - owned islands such as French DOM-TOM like Réunion? What about the Falkland Islands, claimed by both Argentina and the UK? Is Guam part of N. America?

[IsabelC]

The way I see it:

 

Oceania is the region, including many islands.

 

Australasia is the continent, including Australia and the bits that are joined on underneath (that wasn't very technical but ykwim).

 

Australia is the country.

[Soror]

Never heard of Oceania, sounds like it is from some old book to me as well. WE always learned Australia is a continent and a country.

[NanceXToo]

I'm so out of it that this is the first I've heard of "Oceania". Arrgh...

 

:iagree:

 

I have not heard of Oceania.:001_huh:

 

i hadn't heard of oceania either until this thread.

 

Never heard of Oceania, sounds like it is from some old book to me as well. WE always learned Australia is a continent and a country.

 

I'm glad I'm not the only one. I have never heard of Oceania until this thread. It's always been Australia to me!

[JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst]

I think that debates like this often arise from disputes among disparate academic fields who find the qualifiers from one field inadequate in their own.

 

I'm sticking with Australia but we do come across and discuss other terminology.

[JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst]

Somebody has to be a voice of authority. If not Melville, or Mrs Mungo then who?

 

This is a classical education forum for pete's sake.

 

Bill

 

Well, according to the the USGS, NASA and the IAU--these are the continents (even if it's not how I teach):

 

Continents

 

Africa (AF) Antarctica (AN) Asia (AS) Europe (EU) North America (NA) Oceania (OC) South and Central America (SA)

Their website here.

[Spy Car]

IMHO there is no geographic justification for lumping tens of thousands of Pacific Islands, along with Australia, into the "continent" of Oceania, although I can see that there might be a cultural reason for doing so. I wish people would just drop the term "continent" except as it relates continental plates, and use the term "geographic region" (or something similar) instead.

 

 

To define terms a bit, I'm looking at "continents" in the geological sence of the term, which I would think would include plate tectonics (no expert here), and would exclude groupings based nationalist considerations, cultural groupings, or geo-p*litical considerations.

 

Just geological/geographical considerations.

 

If, say, New Zealand is part of the same "plate" as Australia would that ipso facto make it part of the same continent as Australia (or not)?

 

Bill

Edited October 14, 2010 by Spy Car
Mis-spelled expert for pete's sake

[Spy Car]

Well, according to the the USGS, NASA and the IAU--these are the continents (even if it's not how I teach):

 

Continents

 

Africa (AF) Antarctica (AN) Asia (AS) Europe (EU) North America (NA) Oceania (OC) South and Central America (SA)

Their website here.

 

The USGS classification is very helpful to know should I get hammered at Back-to-School-Night this evening :D

 

However, the NASA page I saw had "Australia." Perhaps there is internal division with-in the space agency?

 

Bill

[AussieInWyoming]

I think at least some of the movement toward refering to the region as Oceania stems from the way that sports qualifiers are grouped. I first heard Oceania in common usage as part of FIFA qualifiers.

 

 

This.

[fhjmom]

I am helping in a co-op class called "Around the World" and the lead teacher is from Australia. She said she was taught Australia was part of the continent "Australasia" when in school. I honestly had never heard that term before.

[Spy Car]

I think at least some of the movement toward refering to the region as Oceania stems from the way that sports qualifiers are grouped. I first heard Oceania in common usage as part of FIFA qualifiers.

 

Please don't give us any of this Association Football crud, it is all about Rugby League and Rugby Union groupings :D

 

Bill :tongue_smilie:

[6packofun]

lol Same here. :)

[Mejane]

Ah, for the good old days of Pangaea... ;)

[Corraleno]

Loved your post.

One thing though, I cannot see any cultural reason to lump all the Pacific Islands in with Australia for cultural reasons. All the pacific Islands have Polynesians as their indigenous population , including New Zealand. The Australian indigenous people are not Polynesians.

Actually there are three separate cultural groups in the Pacific Islands: Polynesians, Micronesians, and Melanesians. The peoples of Fiji, New Guinea, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, and assorted other islands in that region are Melanesian, although you're correct that the Maori (New Zealand) are Polynesian. Melanesia was settled by a different group of people from Polynesia; there are cultural, linguistic, and genetic differences. I believe Micronesia was settled later by a mixture of Polynesians, Melanesians, and Filipinos.

 

Australia is a bit of an enigma, because it's believed that Australia and Papua New Guinea (PNG) were settled around the same time (50-60K years ago), when they were connected by a land bridge. However, genetic testing has generated contradictory results; some tests seem to show a genetic relationship between Australian Aborigines and the population of PNG, and others show strong enough genetic differences that scholars think PNG was settled by a different migration of people from a different area.

 

If one is defining continents on the basis of tectonic plates, Australia, PNG, and most of the islands of Melanesia are part of the same plate, so it makes sense geographically to group Australia with Melanesia. If one uses tectonic plates to define the continents, though, Australia and Melanesia would need to be grouped with India! Interestingly, there's a genetic link as well — recent research has shown that Australian Aborigines have genetic relatives in southern India, which is where they are likely to have migrated from 50-60K years ago.

 

Using the seven major tectonic plates for the seven "continents" would not only group Australia/Melanesia with India, it would group Southern California with Polynesia and Micronesia in the Pacific Plate! And then there are six smaller plates like the Philippine, Caribbean, and Arabian plates.

 

So I vote for "Geographic Regions" instead of "continents."

 

Jackie

Edited October 14, 2010 by Corraleno

[Wheres Toto]

Ah, for the good old days of Pangaea... ;)

 

:lol::lol: It's certainly easier to remember. Especially if you try to cover all the possibilities.

[Spy Car]

 

If one is defining continents on the basis of tectonic plates, Australia, PNG, and most of the islands of Melanesia are part of the same plate, so it makes sense geographically to group Australia with Melanesia. If one uses tectonic plates to define the continents, though, Australia and Melanesia would need to be grouped with India! Interestingly, there's a genetic link as well — recent research has shown that Australian Aborigines have genetic relatives in southern India, which is where they are likely to have migrated from 50-60K years ago.

 

Using the seven major tectonic plates for the seven "continents" would not only group Australia/Melanesia with India, it would group Southern California with Polynesia and Micronesia in the Pacific Plate! And then there are six smaller plates like the Philippine, Caribbean, and Arabian plates.

 

So I vote for "Geographic Regions" instead of "continents."

 

Jackie

 

Thank you for the informative post Jackie. This question is proving to be even more complex than I first anticipated.

 

Bill (in sunny Polynesia :D)

[Corraleno]

Bill (in sunny Polynesia :D)

:lol:

 

Jackie

[Chris in VA]

It's pronounced "oh shee AN ee yuh." You can hear several audio/dictionary pronunciations here.

 

 

Traditionally, Britain and Ireland didn't consider themselves part of the continent of Europe (hence references to the rest of Europe as "The Continent"), and despite the EU, Brits still make a cultural distinction between themselves and "continental" Europeans. Geographically, if you count the boundary of the "continent" as the edge of the Continental Shelf, then Britain and Ireland are part of the continent of Europe.

 

IMHO there is no geographic justification for lumping tens of thousands of Pacific Islands, along with Australia, into the "continent" of Oceania, although I can see that there might be a cultural reason for doing so. I wish people would just drop the term "continent" except as it relates continental plates, and use the term "geographic region" (or something similar) instead.

 

 

I'm afraid Hawaii is not part of North America. It may be part of the U.S. politically, but geographically it's part of Polynesia, and Polynesia is part of Oceania. Traditionally the three areas of Oceania were Polynesia, Micronesia, and Melanesia, and they weren't considered part of any continent — because they're islands. But now that some people are calling Oceania a "continent," Australia (or Australia/New Guinea) is sometimes added as the 4th region.

 

Jackie

(ex-anthropologist, who spent time in Fiji, Tonga, and New Zealand back when Oceania was a cultural region not a continent)

:iagree::iagree:

[Mrs Mungo]

The points I was contending:

 

 

 

• Continents do NOT have to be one connected land mass.
  
• Hawaii and Greenland ARE part of the North American continent as far as geography is concerned.
  
• New Zealand IS part of the Australia/Oceania continent. I am aware that it is its own country, Canada and the US are different countries on the same continent.
  
• New Zealand is NOT its own continent!
  
• Japan is NOT its own continent, it is part of Asia!
  
• ALSO, Europe and Asia are *different* continents even though they are part of the same landmass.
  

 

 

http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/countries/

 

You will note that Madagascar is considered part of the African continent, despite being a separate island. Japan is part of the continent of Asia even though it is an island. Greenland is considered part of North America even though it is an island. The UK is part of the continent of Europe even though it is an island. This site calls it Australia and Oceania, which is fine with me, but still includes New Zealand and various islands of Polynesia and Micronesia (and not Hawaii).

 

Do we have 4 continents, 7 continents or *thousands* of continents (if each island is a continent, then we have thousands of them)? I am only asserting that: 1. islands are not continent-less and 2. islands are not their own continent.

 

Yes, these things change. Yes, some of it is geo-political and some of it is scientific.

[Willow]

:confused: New Zealand IS a whole other country. It is completely different from Australia.

 

Thank you, Melissa.

[Willow]

T

 

If, say, New Zealand is part of the same "plate" as Australia would that ipso facto make it part of the same continent as Australia (or not)?

 

Bill

 

Just to let you know, only the West Coast is part of the Australian plate. The east is part of the pacific plate.

 

Well thats the case at the moment, Nz is wobbling a bit just now......;)

[Stacy in NJ]

:glare:

[Spy Car]

Just to let you know, only the West Coast is part of the Australian plate. The east is part of the pacific plate.

 

Well thats the case at the moment, Nz is wobbling a bit just now......;)

 

I know about that wobbling feeling as we are splitting off from our so-called "continent" as well.

 

Thank you for the information on the "plates" I did not know that.

 

It seems to me the big (and still seemingly debatable) question is does a continent have to be a connected land mass, or not? Mrs Mungo (a very sharp cookie) says no. Jackie are you saying yes?

 

Anyone else.

 

Bill (who simply does not know the right answer)

[Mrs Mungo]

I know about that wobbling feeling as we are splitting off from our so-called "continent" as well.

 

Thank you for the information on the "plates" I did not know that.

 

It seems to me the big (and still seemingly debatable) question is does a continent have to be a connected land mass, or not? Mrs Mungo (a very sharp cookie) says no. Jackie are you saying yes?

 

Anyone else.

 

Bill (who simply does not know the right answer)

 

I just don't understand why people are willing to concede (as far as I can tell) that Japan is part of Asia and Greenland is part of North America, but the idea breaks down as it expands to other regions? I just haven't seen a reason given for that other than "that's what I learned in school," or "New Zealand and Australia are different countries. (!?)"

Edited October 14, 2010 by Mrs Mungo

[jenL]

I have nothing to add as this is the first time I've heard of Oceania; however, I need to chime in and say how fascinating this thread is! :bigear:

 

Great question, Bill!

[Spy Car]

I just don't understand why people are willing to concede (as far as I can tell) that Japan is part of Asia and Greenland is part of North America, but the idea breaks down as it expands to other regions? I just haven't seen a reason given for that other than "that's what I learned in school," or "New Zealand and Australia are different countries. (!?)"

 

My thinking is in line with yours Mrs Mungo. I am just not sure about the scientic catorgorization (if there is a single standard) as opposed to cultural or geo-p*litical groupings (which I don't care about in the context of this discussion).

 

Does the scientific community require "continents" to include connected land-masses, or not?

 

Bill

Edited October 14, 2010 by Spy Car
Lad-masses gives a whole 'nother feel

[Mrs Mungo]

My thinking is in line with yours Mrs Mungo. I am just not sure about the scientic catorgorization (if there is a single standard) as opposed to cultural or geo-p*litical groupings (which I don't care about in the context of this discussion).

 

Does the scientific community require "continents" to include connected lad-masses, or not?

 

Bill

 

Hm, does this article help or does it only add to the confusion? How about this one?

 

If we only have four continents, then the next logical jump is that we only have one ocean. All of the oceans are, after all, connected.

[Corraleno]

The points I was contending:

 

 

 

• Continents do NOT have to be one connected land mass.

• Hawaii and Greenland ARE part of the North American continent as far as geography is concerned.

• New Zealand IS part of the Australia/Oceania continent. I am aware that it is its own country, Canada and the US are different countries on the same continent.

• New Zealand is NOT its own continent!

• Japan is NOT its own continent, it is part of Asia!

• ALSO, Europe and Asia are *different* continents even though they are part of the same landmass.

 

 

http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/countries/

 

You will note that Madagascar is considered part of the African continent, despite being a separate island. Japan is part of the continent of Asia even though it is an island. Greenland is considered part of North America even though it is an island. The UK is part of the continent of Europe even though it is an island. This site calls it Australia and Oceania, which is fine with me, but still includes New Zealand and various islands of Polynesia and Micronesia (and not Hawaii).

 

Do we have 4 continents, 7 continents or *thousands* of continents (if each island is a continent, then we have thousands of them)? I am only asserting that: 1. islands are not continent-less and 2. islands are not their own continent.

 

Yes, these things change. Yes, some of it is geo-political and some of it is scientific.

There's nothing on that website to indicate that Hawaii is geographically part of North America. :confused: On a travel site, it would make sense to group Hawaii with the US, since the same legal/customs and cultural issues would apply, but I can't find any reputable source that says Hawaii is part of the continent of North America. On the contrary, from WorldAtlas.com:

Politically [Hawaii] is part of North America, but geographically it is not part of any continent.

FromNetState.com

Hawaii is the only state that is not part of the North American continent...

From SheppardSoftware.com (geography software):

[Hawaii] is the only state not located on the continent of North America...

 

Traditionally, the term "continent" did mean a fairly contiguous land mass, separated by water or by a very narrow bridge of land, and it excluded many islands (including most of the Pacific islands); not every bit of land on Earth was associated with a particular continent. However, different countries/cultures divide up the world into different continents, so you can have one country that considers Eurasia a single continent, and you can have people in the UK that not only consider Europe and Asia different continents, but don't even consider themselves part of the continent of Europe.

 

Normally I wouldn't cite Wikipedia, but they summarize the situation pretty well:

The narrowest meaning of continent is that of a continuous area of land or mainland, with the coastline and any land boundaries forming the edge of the continent. In this sense the term continental Europe is used to refer to mainland Europe, excluding islands such as Great Britain, Ireland, and Iceland, and the term continent of Australia may refer to the mainland of Australia, excluding Tasmania and New Guinea. Similarly, the continental United States refers to the 48 contiguous states in central North America and may include Alaska in the northwest of the continent (the two being separated by Canada), while excluding Hawaii in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

From the perspective of geology or physical geography, continent may be extended beyond the confines of continuous dry land to include the shallow, submerged adjacent area (the continental shelf) and the islands on the shelf (continental islands), as they are structurally part of the continent. From this perspective the edge of the continental shelf is the true edge of the continent, as shorelines vary with changes in sea level. In this sense the islands of Great Britain and Ireland are part of Europe, while Australia and the island of New Guinea together form a continent (sometimes called Sahul or Australia-New Guinea).

As a cultural construct, the concept of a continent may go beyond the continental shelf to include oceanic islands and continental fragments. In this way, Iceland is considered part of Europe and Madagascar part of Africa. Extrapolating the concept to its extreme, some geographers group the Australasian continental plate with other islands in the pacific into one continent called Oceania. This allows the entire land surface of the Earth to be divided into continents or quasi-continents.

 

Whether one considers Hawaii to be part of the recently-labeled "continent" of Oceania, or to be a continent-less group of islands in the Pacific, it's truly not part of the continent of North America.

 

Jackie

[Mrs Mungo]

There's nothing on that website to indicate that Hawaii is geographically part of North America.

 

If you click on North America, then the United States, Hawaii and Alaska are both discussed in that section. It has been lumped in with the continent of North America for geo-political purposes, even though it is outside of the "continental US." Alaska is also outside of the "continental US" for almost all purposes.

 

But, leave Hawaii aside if you must. Can you find a single reputable source that says Greenland is not part of North America, or that Japan is not part of Asia?

[KidsHappen]

I am still kicking it old school: We have nine planets including Pluto, seven continents including Australia, and only four oceans - Atlantic, Pacific, Indian and Artic.

 

Sometimes I wonder why they spend so much time reclassifying stuff we already know instead of trying to learn about new things that we don't know yet.

[Corraleno]

I just don't understand why people are willing to concede (as far as I can tell) that Japan is part of Asia and Greenland is part of North America, but the idea breaks down as it expands to other regions? I just haven't seen a reason given for that other than "that's what I learned in school," or "New Zealand and Australia are different countries. (!?)"

In the strictest definition of the word, Japan and Greenland are not part of the continents of Asia & North America. The OED defines "continent" as:

"continuous land, mainland, one of the main continuous bodies of land (Europe, Asia, Africa, North & South America, Australia, Antarctica)..." It comes from Latin, terra continens, meaning "continuous land."

 

So that's why it seems absurd to me to group tens of thousands of unrelated islands together, along with Australia, and call them the "continent" of Oceania — it totally contradicts the definition of "continent." To me, that's like calling each US state an "island."

 

That's why I think people should drop the term "continent" and replace it with "geographic region," and that the term "continental plate" should be used strictly in the geological sense — because that does fit the proper definition of terra continens.

 

Jackie

[Mrs Mungo]

In the strictest definition of the word, Japan and Greenland are not part of the continents of Asia & North America. The OED defines "continent" as:

"continuous land, mainland, one of the main continuous bodies of land (Europe, Asia, Africa, North & South America, Australia, Antarctica)..." It comes from Latin, terra continens, meaning "continuous land."

 

So that's why it seems absurd to me to group tens of thousands of unrelated islands together, along with Australia, and call them the "continent" of Oceania — it totally contradicts the definition of "continent." To me, that's like calling each US state an "island."

 

That's why I think people should drop the term "continent" and replace it with "geographic region," and that the term "continental plate" should be used strictly in the geological sense — because that does fit the proper definition of terra continens.

 

Jackie

 

But, I think in current use the term "continent" is basically shorthand for geographical region.