Talk:New Caledonia

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good, but just add our native name for New Caledonia

You can edit the page yourself! David.Monniaux 23:41, 14 Dec 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Kanaky - Polynesian word for "New Caledonia"?

The article states that the Polynesian word for New Caledonia is Kanaky (in the first line). The origins of the word Kanaky are not known and there are several hypotheses. It may be derived from a Polynesian word. However this does not imply that Kanaky is a Polynesian word. In any case "Polynesian" is not a single language. Saying that Kanaky is the Polynesian word for New Caledonia is like saying that "New Caledonia" is the Roman word for the archipelago. (I.E. Just because the term "New Caledonia" has Roman roots does not mean it's part of the Latin language)

"Nouvelle Caledonie" and "New Caledonia" are the official names given by the French administration. Kanaky is an alternative name that is in popular use in all the main indigenous languages of New Caledonia as well as English and French.

I propose to edit the page to remove "Polynesian: " as a descriptor of the name "Kanaky" and replace it by "Alternative name: ".

Does anyone have any comments?

The name was actually not brought there by Polynesians, but by whalers, blackbirders, missionaries and filibusters who suppesedly picked up the word in Hawai'i and used to indiscriminately as a generic term for all the native populations of the Pacific islands. There is a Polynesian language spoken in Ouvéa, I think, plus a lot of migrants that speak Wallisian or Tahitian who arrived during the last century. Otherwise the islands are thoroughly Melanesian. --Big Adamsky 01:35, 23 November 2005 (UTC)

I do know that Espèce de Canaque! is a curse used frequently by Captain Haddock of Hergé's cartoon Tintin. If I remember correctly the local spelling, kanak makes a lot more sense than the french spelling canaque in relation with the local languages. The older melanesians object to the use of the word, probably on the grounds that it is racial slur, however the younger are embracing the term, similar to the Black pride movement in the United States - GSchjetne 09:43, 9 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Ecology

Should this actually read, "..and makes a funny cooing sound."? (see bolded text below)

"The Cagou, which cannot fly, has a large crest and a funny cooing, and is a national symbol. The niaouli, whose sap smells like camphor, is used to treat head colds."

--Randolph 16:29, 10 Apr 2005 (UTC) I think it should!!

[edit] Lat-long

I am looking for lat-long coordinates for this new Caledonia.

Laurel Bush 18:46, 12 July 2005 (UTC).

From the CIA fact book the LAT-LONG for New Caledonia is 21 30 S, 165 30 E Goggle Maps

[edit] help

hi im monique im in australia vic i found this site verry intresting and helped me out a lot wit my french work so thak youto all those people who helped

[edit] Flags

Hi all

Added : The French flag, official flag of the NC, at the head of page, near the independence flag "Kanaky". I thus hope to satisfy the claims of all, regarding the various points of view on this significant subject... Florent

I wrote my thesis on the flag issue in NC after having done some field work there. This page should follow the example of the Western Sahara page, where they decided in the talk-page that no flag should be shown at the top (but perhaps further down), since the independentist flag is not official but is only a popular/cultural symbol and the metropolitan flag is primarily associated with the controlling state which is not identical with the territory. --Big Adamsky 01:28, 23 November 2005 (UTC)

How about removing the flags altogether? Or at least not havning them at the top of the article. The current layout of the page is not very appealing, it looks patchy and visually unbalanced with all those images cramped up in the corner and squeezing the text downwards and to the left.... --Big Adamsky 00:03, 6 December 2005 (UTC)

Totally agree. I am removing the flags now. The only symbols/emblems of New Caledonia that are official are the logos of the Congrès and of the Gouvernement of New Caledonia, which show a Pacific shell (shellfish). Maybe these could be shown in the article, but I am not sure. Hardouin 17:41, 18 December 2005 (UTC)

I think the Kanaky flag makes sense later on in the article next to the relevant discussion - like in this old revision. Thanks/wangi 17:49, 18 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Two New Caledonias!!

This should have a disambiguation page; I'm writing historical entries for British Columbia etc, and the northern interior of the province was (and still is sometimes) named New Caledonia, which was a Hudson's Bay Company fur district; links from the British Columbia and Hudson's Bay pages mentioning New Caledonia are currently directed to the South Seas.

Skookum1 03:02, 31 October 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Problems with climate and natives

The open pit mining of nickel was mentioned in to be a problem in the Weltspiegel (a good TV-documentaion). The heavy rain falls and the hills lead to landslide. The native people there have nearly no chance against the French government and the big companies. May be this could be a point for the article. Stone 19:08, 29 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] WikiProject?

Would there be any interest in starting a New Caledonia WikiProject? I'll try to summon some people in New Caledonia and see if they want to contribute as well. -- GSchjetne 09:35, 17 March 2006 (UTC)

Definitely! Count me in. //Big Adamsky 13:00, 17 March 2006 (UTC)

I can't really contribute too much, but if you start it, I would be highly interested in anything you write about the New Caledonian independence movement. ;) —Nightstallion (?) 13:31, 17 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Caledonia - Scotland conexion

There's a reference to Caledonia being an ancient name for Scotland. This is not exactly true. The area designated Calydonia by the Romans consisted in only the Scots Highlands. Scotland itself was called Alba, as it still is today in Gaelic, although with a different pronunciation. In the Middle Ages, the name Scotia also gained currency. Furthermore, the Romans used the spelling Calydonia not Caledonia, but the spelling was later confused by Mediæval writers. 207.118.94.190 07:47, 26 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Infobox

I have corrected the most obvious flaws in the infobox. However, I think the country infobox format is quite inappropriate and cumbersome for French overseas territories. It would be better to create a dedicated Template:French_overseas_territories_infobox which would be used for New Caledonia, French Polynesia, Wallis and Futuna, Mayotte, and Saint Pierre et Miquelon. Hardouin 13:11, 4 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Why named after Scotland?

Why was this Territory named after Scotland?

I'm not sure if this answers the question "why", but similar European names for nearby places included New Britain, New Hebrides, New Zealand, New Holland and New South Wales. (Some of these names are now defunct.) -- Avenue 09:01, 23 July 2006 (UTC)

Captain Cook, who was the first European to sight the islands, was struck by the prominent native conifers he saw growing near the sea, and it supposedly reminded him of Scotland, hence his inspiration for naming the terriroty.

[edit] POV that should be removed?

This list includes such places as the American Samoa, the British Falkland Islands or the New Zealand territory of Tokelau, but noticeably it does not include places like Tibet, Scotland or West Papua, which has led to its reputation as a politically biased list. Strikes me as a point of view comment that should be removed. Would go in that article, not this one.--205.155.72.125 19:41, 26 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Overview map

It would be nice to include an overview map showing the location of New Caledonia in relation to over regional countries and continents (Australia). The current map could be located anywhere in the seven seas. --NoahElhardt 16:14, 13 September 2006 (UTC)

I agree with this completely. --Jsaxton86 20:20, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Merger discussion

I thought I'd bring to attention that Demographics of New Caledonia is suggested to be merged into this article. Delta Tango • Talk 00:29, 6 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Proposed WikiProject

In my ongoing efforts to try to include every country on the planet included in the scope of a WikiProject, I have proposed a new project on Melanesia at Wikipedia:WikiProject Council/Proposals#Melanesia whose scope would include New Caledonia. Any interested parties are more than welcome to add their names there, so we can see if there is enough interest to start such a project. Thank you for your attention. Badbilltucker 17:15, 20 December 2006 (UTC)