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Culture of Afghanistan

Identification. The word "Afghan" historically has been used to designate the members of an ethnic group also called the Pashtuns, but Afghanistan is multicultural and multiethnic.

The international terms "Albania" and "Albanian" are based on the root *alb-, *arb-, which also is the source of the word Arberesh, which is used to describe the Italo-Albanians of southern Italy. That root also appears as *lab- in Labëria, referring to the southern Albanian region from Vlorë southward to the Greek border, and *rab- in early Slavic, as in raban, rabanski ("Albanian").

Culture of Algeria

In Arabic, the country is known as Al-Jaza'ir, which is short for Al-Jumhuriyal Al-Jaza'iriyah ad-dimuqratiyah ash-sha'biyah.

Culture of American Samoa

An early explorer, Louis de Bougainville called the Samoan islands the Navigator's Islands, and some early government reports may refer to American Samoa as Eastern Samoa.

Culture of Andorra

Identification. The first reference to Andorra appears in the writings of the Greek historian Polybius (c.

Culture of Angola

Identification. The word "Angola" derives from the title used by the rulers of the Ndongo state.

Culture of Anguilla

Identification. Anguilla, a dependent territory of the United Kingdom, is one of the Leeward Islands.

Culture of Antigua And Barbuda

Identification. The culture of Antigua and Barbuda (local creole pronunciation, Antiga and Barbueda) is a classic example of a creole culture.

Culture of Argentina

National culture, ser nacional (national being), cultura rioplatense, cultura gauchesca, cultura criolla (creole culture). In Argentina the word creole often has a different connotation than in the rest of Latin America.

Culture of Armenia

Culture of Aruba

Identification. Aruba is a multicultural island society, with Caribbean and Latin American features.

Culture of Australia

"Aussie" is a colloquialism that was used during World War I to refer to Australian-born people of British or Irish ancestry. Initially used to describe a happy-go-lucky character capable of battling through hard times, the term was employed after World War II to distinguish those born domestically from "new" immigrants from western and southern Europe.

Culture of Austria

Identification. The origins of present-day Austria can be traced back to prehistoric times.

Culture of Azerbaijan

Azerbaijani Turkish, Azeri Turkish. The country name also is written Azerbaidzhan, Azerbaydzhan, Adharbadjan, and Azarbaydjan in older sources as a transliteration from Russian.

Culture of Bahama Islands

Identification. The name Bahamas derives from the Spanish baja ("shallow") and mar ("sea").

Culture of Bahrain

Identification. In ancient times, Bahrain was part of an empire known as Dilmun.

Culture of Bangladesh

Identification. "Bangladesh" is a combination of the Bengali words, Bangla and Desh, meaning the country or land where the Bangla language is spoken.

Culture of Barbados

Identification. Barbadians are people born on Barbados and people born elsewhere who have at least one Barbadian parent and maintain cultural ties to the nation.

Culture of Belarus

Republic of Belarus, Respublika Belarus; before 1991, the country was known as the Belorussian (also spelled Byelorussian) Soviet Socialist Republic. Sometimes called White Russia or alternatively White Ruthenia, especially in relation to the pre-1918 history of the region.

Culture of Belgium

Identification. Gallia Belgica was the Romans' name for the northern part of Gaul, the northern limit of their empire.

Culture of Belize

Identification. Previously called British Honduras, the country now known as Belize derives its name from one of two historical sources: Maya root words or the surname of the Scottish buccaneer Peter Wallace, who maintained a camp near present-day Belize City in the seventeenth century.

Countries and Their Cultures