Hmm, I meant it was a bit arbitrary. It was decided by the british empire and that's it... Not a good method to split the world in two lol.

Maybe, but everyone recognises it, everyone uses GMT, even the most anti-British countries there are, even the Islamic extremists, they all use GMT. And noone really cares enough to change it.

Edited 3/12/2016 21:14:02

I literally got right in the middle of the chart...


http://snag.gy/TbEmp.jpg

Edited 3/12/2016 21:30:33

Жұқтыру, Australia and NZ are often refered to as a "Western" nations because of their political and cultural affiliation with geographically western countries.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_world

"Western" or "Western World" doesn't just mean geography, but can instead be a code-word for countries with very similar political/economic stances that share a bond with eachother. It all depends on the context. During the cold war, west just meant any US ally.

Edited 3/12/2016 22:15:27

Yea, I think that definition is better.

Everyone follows the greenwitch time because of the simplicity of it... Sure, Russia could say tomorrow that the moscou time zone is GMT 0, but it's just gonna make it a whole mess to comunicate with other countries.

"Western" or "Western World" doesn't just mean geography, but can instead be a code-word for countries with very similar political/economic stances that share a bond with eachother. It all depends on the context. During the cold war, west just meant any US ally.

You mean First (Capitalist) World. But west is strictly geographic.

Everyone follows the greenwitch time because of the simplicity of it... Sure, Russia could say tomorrow that the moscou time zone is GMT 0, but it's just gonna make it a whole mess to comunicate with other countries.

So it is universally recognised. And there are strict longitude lines (I think it's every 15*) that say where each time zone begins and ends - at any rate, Russia's not getting to the middle. Frankly, I think differing timezones in general are just messy, that we should just all go with one timezone, like China has one national timezone, but that's another tale.

Just google "Western World" and you'll get the same thing as I said. Go to the "Western World" wikipedia and you get different definitions, including political, cultural, and economic. You fail to understand that "West" is code-word.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_world#Cultural_definition

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_world#Modern_political_definition

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_world#Economic_definition

Just since it's a popular misconception doesn't mean it's right.

The public decides the meaning of words. Many word's and saying's current definitions are rooted in past misconceptions. I don't know if you a native-English speaker (due to your username), but words aren't as single leveled as you seem to think.

The public decides the meaning of words.

Screw that.

Edited 3/12/2016 23:41:24

The public decides the meaning of words.

Nope, whoever first used the word decides it's meaning.

The public decides the meaning of words. Many word's and saying's current definitions are rooted in past misconceptions.

There's a line. Sometimes, it's thought that the pub misuses words, other times, it's thought the word gains a new meaning. In my opinion, it's still wrong, since W is something you find on a compass, to tell you where you are, and certainly not something you find in Australia.

Zephyrum, it doesn't always work out like that. Here's a quote I found online that I think you should read.

"Word definitions are created organically in language by native speakers. When enough people agree on what a word means, then that is what the word means. Definitions shift and change over time.

Writers can be influential in shaping word definitions, since they are the ones who can apply artistic license to stretch and extend word meanings. Sometimes they create new words altogether which then get added to to the dictionary. Shakespeare is famous for having invented a large number of English words.

Dictionaries simply describe accepted definitions at the time that the dictionaries are written. Dictionary makers study the language, examine various corpora (massive bodies of written works) and attempt to capture the consensus definitions as understood by native speakers. Sometimes definitions are debated by panels of editors before an agreement is reached."



Xyktbipy, you can use the word "West" or "Western" however you'd like, but it doesn't change the fact that the word is commonly used to describe a political/economic/cultural sphere in the world.

Edited 3/13/2016 01:34:58

Here's a small collection of news aticles I found that use the term "West" as an alternative to First World or US + Allies. If you watch any "Western" news show talking about world politics, it's almost impossible for them to not use "the West" as a replacement for First World or US + Allies.


http://www.smh.com.au/national/what-islamic-states-recruitment-tells-us-about-the-west--and-ourselves-20160302-gn8t0p.html

http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/op-ed/article65679787.html

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f3a02f84-e6d0-11e5-a09b-1f8b0d268c39.html

Xyktbipy, you can use the word "West" or "Western" however you'd like, but it doesn't change the fact that the word is commonly used to describe a political/economic/cultural sphere in the world.

Commonly used in American and British balls, maybe.

Here's a small collection of news aticles I found that use the term "West" as an alternative to First World or US + Allies. If you watch any "Western" news show talking about world politics, it's almost impossible for them to not use "the West" as a replacement for First World or US + Allies.

They abuse* or misuse*, and you can find plenty of words misused or abused, like "compare" (instead of contrast), or continual (instead of continous).

k

Yea, bunch of weirdos :)