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My girlfriend, who is not a native English speaker, asked me this yesterday: why are some geographical regions prefixed with the nouns North, South, East and West, but others are prefixed with the adjectives Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western?

For example, it's far more common (to my British ear at least) to hear people talking about "Eastern Europe" and "Southeast Asia" than the alternatives "East Europe" and "Southeastern Asia."

Why is this the case? I couldn't think of a convincing explanation. Is there a hidden logic that I can't fathom, or is it just one of those weird idiomatic things?

tchrist
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GMA
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2 Answers2

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I think the best answer is: We don’t know and no one questioned it for so long and now it stuck.

The first response is correct in terms of how East vs Eastern should be used, but this principle may not have been properly applied in these naming conventions.

Sanjeet Hattarki
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  • I’d be careful about saying your answer is “the best answer”. I agree that the the other answer is nonsense, and “it stuck” is important, but there may be a particular pattern this followed or it may be pure chance, and unless you’ve tried to research it you don’t know. I’m actually trying to remember from my time in the US ann analogous example where British and US usage differs. Possibly with mid and middle. Middle West? Can’t remember. – David Nov 10 '23 at 21:17
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South East Asia is the name of a defined sub-region of Asia with a defined identity, united politically through ASEAN - Association of Southeast Asian Nations - and is further sub-divided into maritime and mainland SEA.

Eastern Europe, on the other hand, is not a name, and has no political unity or identity. It is an undefined (or a best only vaguely defined) general reference to the eastern part of the Europe.

Compare with South Africa as the name of a country, and southern Africa which is a general reference to the southern part of the continent.

Roaring Fish
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    Yep, this was my first instinct for a response. It's still kinda vague though - for example West Africa has no political unity or identity (that I'm aware of) and is somewhat vaguely defined, but it's still more common to say West Africa than Western Africa. – GMA Oct 09 '14 at 05:24
  • They have the Economic Community of West African States -> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_Community_of_West_African_States – Roaring Fish Oct 09 '14 at 06:48
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    The ECOWAS has only existed since 1975, and I doubt most native English speakers have even heard of it. I can't believe that's the reason why we don't say "Western Africa". – GMA Dec 21 '15 at 14:36
  • Why "the Europe"? Continent names don't take articles... – Enguroo Jun 28 '18 at 01:52
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    There was a time, not very long ago, when Eastern Europe in fact had a readily noticeable political unity and identity, and when using that name carried implications that went beyond 'general reference to the eastern part of the Europe'. On the other hand, I doubt that an average English speaker thinks of ASEAN when using the term 'South East Asia'. – jsw29 Oct 06 '20 at 21:33
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    'Northern Ireland'? – Edwin Ashworth Nov 09 '23 at 16:09
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    "Eastern Europe, on the other hand, is not a name, and has no political unity or identity." This is wrong. It refers, historically and, arguably, currently, to that part of Europe that was behind the Iron Curtain. – Greybeard Nov 09 '23 at 19:32
  • Eastern Europe has multiple meanings; certainly to people who grew up in the Cold War it means the Warsaw Pact and other communist countries. But before and after that binary division, Central Europe was a cultural entity, based around the German-speaking world, Hapsburg empire, and often the more economically developed Protestant and Catholic west Slavic areas (Poland, Czechia, etc), with eastern Europe further east than that, and western Europe vaguely defined, possibly by the Rhine. – Stuart F Nov 09 '23 at 21:09
  • @Greybeard, isn't your comment a repetition of what was said only a few lines above it? – jsw29 Nov 09 '23 at 21:43