Talk:The size of Wales

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[edit] Speedy deletion?

I'm not entirely clear why this article has been marked for speedy deletion within minutes of being created. It doesn't, to my mind, obviously meet any of the criteria for speedy deletion - have I missed something? If so, happy to be educated.

The use of "the size of Wales" as a unit of measurement in British news media is well-established. From a memetic viewpoint, it merits study - why should it, rather than "the size of Scotland", for example, have gained a foothold as a conventional unit of measurement for news media.

Try a google search to gain an appreciation of its cultural significance - as well as many pages which refer to areas "the size of Wales", you'll find a number of pages which specifically examine "the size of Wales" as a subject in its own right.

Certainly encyclopaedic, in my view. (unsigned contribution from SP-KP)

The speedy tag has now been removed. It's fairly obviously not a candidate for speedy deletion. However, any user has the right to argue for its deletion through the Votes for deletion process. PS - it's advisable to sign your name when contributing to talk pages - you can do this by inserting four tildes like this '~~~~'. Dbiv 22:57, 16 Apr 2005 (UTC)

[edit] reason

The origin of and reasons for the choice of Wales (rather than England, Scotland, etc.) as a unit of measurement is unknown

I strongly suspect that a reason why the phrase is so commonly used is in order to convey an exaggerated impression of size, by playing on people's tendency to overestimate the size of Wales. The Wales-England border is actually somewhat concave from the point of view of Wales, and I suspect that if people were asked to draw the Welsh border onto an outline of the British coastline, most people would make Wales too wide.

Of course, this is just my speculation and so not article-worthy. But if there happened to be anything appropriately sourced on people's perception of the size of Wales, it would be good to include in the article.

Foobarbaz 18:15, 3 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] MicroWales

I added the comment about the microWales, but I can't for the life of me remember where I came across the idea (possibly the BBC online's magazine monitor?) If anyone can find the source... Grutness...wha? 10:00, 21 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] plurals

Shouldn't it be "Belgia"? --moof 11:33, 8 June 2006 (UTC)

That doesn't feel as obvious as "Belgiums" to me, but if it is correct then replace it. Is there an official pluralisation for country names? Thryduulf 17:02, 6 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Waleses

What is meant by Waleses? Surely if it's intended as a plural, then it should remain Wales - as it's a plural in itself?--Nunners 10:20, 10 August 2006 (UTC)

It's not a plural in itself though. While the name may be derived from the Germanic Walsch – which is a plural – as a country it's singular. GeeJo (t)⁄(c) • 16:18, 11 August 2006 (UTC)
Should be noted that the name is commonly given as meaning "foreigners" in English, "compatriots" in the native tongue. Already plurals both. The term 'Wale' has been heard in pubs in England on numerous occasions as an alternative to "welshman" ("Andrew the Wale"), indeed wikipedia redirects from that term to the country. Graldensblud 12:30, 2 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Merge to List of unusual units of measurement#Belgium/Wales/Isle of Wight/Rhode Island/Texas/Alaska/Washington D.C.

Most of what appears in this article is also here, and I feel that this quirky unit of measurement is more suited to the list, rather than to its own article. Hence the proposed merger. Any objection?? Cricketgirl 18:56, 10 June 2007 (UTC)

  • YES, I oppose strongly. I believe it deserves its own article, and if it could be expanded to a more international view, it would also be too large to be a part of the list of other unusual measurements. Thrane 12:52, 22 June 2007 (UTC)
  • I think rather than merging, this article should be expanded and renamed to cover the use of countries and landmasses as units of measurement in the media--since it already does that, the title is a bit deceptive. I think there's enough on this subject to warrant its own article. Nick Fel 15:13, 18 July 2007 (UTC)