Neither motherland, fatherland, nor homeland strike the same chords with me that Vaterland, la patrie, or rodina strike, and I'm a non-native speaker of German, French, and Russian (respectively). Whether a particular group uses (their language’s equivalent of, if they have one) motherland or fatherland is a matter of culture, tradition, or, in some instances, personal preference. For example, even though Latin has patria, Roma is still a feminine form and the personification of Rome as a female entity also played a role in civic and national identity-discourse. In contrast, the terms motherland and fatherland have appeared in Webster's dictionaries since the American Dictionary of the English Language of 1847. The Philippinesis also considered as a motherland which is deprived from the word "Inang Bayan" which means “Motherl… And Japan would be some weird uncle who picks a fight with them. ( i know the UK isn't Britain because i live here so don't comment that). If germany is the fatherland, and russia is the motherland, then wwii was just a brutal divorce Mindblowing lguess Poland, France, and Britain? Does The Month of March Have Anything To Do With “Marching”? 8 Answers. Motherland definition: The motherland is the country in which you or your ancestors were born and to which you... | Meaning, pronunciation, translations and examples With Rutger Hauer, Miranda Richardson, Peter Vaughan, Michael Kitchen. Directed by Christopher Menaul. Anyway, ‘Fatherland’ is not really a common English term, and for many English speakers its associations are caught up in the emergence of the term Vaterland in propaganda associated with Nazi Germany. I could be wrong though. 9 years ago. Most people in Britain do not personify the nation, even if they consider Britain to be a nation rather than a collection nations. Even in English in fatherland can convey patriotic connotations. I hope this has been at least mildly informative and answered your question. Relevance. It can mean “one’s native land” or “the home of one’s ancestors.” It’s slightly younger than fatherland and motherland, attested in the early 1600s. Get Dictionary.com tips to keep words straight ... right in your inbox. No, Great Britain is not our "Motherland". Germany is a fatherland, theres mother Russia. A homeland may also be referred to as a fatherland, a motherland, or a mother country, ... many natives in the colonies came to think of Britain as the mother country of one, large nation. In the US, asking someone where they are from can be a sensitive topic and be considered a microaggression, especially if it’s asked in way that assumes an American citizen isn’t one because they are perceived to “look foreign” or have a “foreign-sounding name, e.g. Kalamazoo, Michigan. Why are some countries known as motherland, while others are fatherland? The site may not work properly if you don't, If you do not update your browser, we suggest you visit, Press J to jump to the feed. Rather a colorless term. Learn more. Fatherland (отечество) - otechestvo, is also used. You can see it, if you know Greek and Latin, in the forms πατρία and πατήρ/patria and pater. My dear boy, you are most mistaken. The source for the below paragraph can be found here. This personification of the nation as a woman is found even in languages that use patri-based terms. Thus, for English speakers, ‘Fatherland’ sounds like an echo of that ideology, even though Vaterland is not itself so definitively tied up in Nazism in the German Language, anymore than its cognates in other European languages are necessarily tied to nationalist ideas of that kind. The fact that it’s so complex, and many languages allow one to use fatherland or motherland, probably speaks to our complex relationships with our homelands (isn’t it just so much easier to use that word!). Wales (part of the UK) might use Fatherland, but in their own language: Y Wlad Fy Nhadau, so in Welsh English it might be “Land of My Fathers” Not exactly the same, but closer. Motherland to Fatherland hopes to give voice to an ethnic minority of the UK, that is currently living on the edge, and often only seen as a by-product of Britain’s colonial rule in India. Adolf Hitler made the term Fatherland more commonly known. And the US would be Child Services. If France is the fatherland then he must be one of those fathers who is never around to provide for his family and runs away at the earliest opportunity. Omaha, Nebraska. From Suffrage To Sisterhood: What Does Feminism Actually Mean?