(no subject)

[xswt-cherryx.livejournal.com]

why does alaska have the preposition на, not в in front of it in the following sentance:

Семья моего дяди живёт на Аляске.

Comments

[colonelrabin.livejournal.com]

Happens to some other toponims in Russian too. The rules here are not so strong. Generally на concerns islands (на Кипре, на Мадагаскаре) and sometimes peninsulas ("на полуострове Бретань", но "в провинции Бретань", "на Пелопоннесе", "на Аляске", but "в штате Аляска", "в Крыму"), sometimes mountain regions ("на Кавказе, на Урале", but "в Альпах, в Карпатах, в Гималаях").

[alon_68]

It's mostly tradition. Some names regarded as rather geographic than political and administrative requires "на":

islands: на Кубе, на Ямайке, на Филиппинах
regions: на Тамбовщине, на Кавказе, на Средней Волге, на Дальнем Востоке
seashores: на Черном море, на Рижском взморье

However, there are no strict rules, because we say в Крыму, в Поволжье, в Сибири

на Балканах but в Скандинавии

Generally, we use на Украине, but many Ukrainians feel it insulting as if it points that Ukraine is not a country but rather a region. So, last years the form в Украине considered as more polite by many people.

[oryx_and_crake]

I suppose the reason is pretty much historical. Normally you would say на when speaking of an island or a peninsula or other geographical area with more or less clear boundaries (на Таити, на острове Пасхи). However, there for sure are lots of exceptions to this rule, so you probably would do better if you just memorise which preposition goes with which toponym. The countries, cities and american states normally require в (в Монтане, в Айдахо), and I don't know why would Alaska be an exception.

[maksa.livejournal.com]

That's why it is the peninsula. «На Аляске», «на Камчатке», «на Апеннинах». However, there are some exceprions: «в Калифорнии», «во Флориде» — they are better known as states.

Islands are usually have the same preposition «на». With some exceptions, for example, «в Ньюфаундленде», «в Исландии», «в Ирландии» (I suppose, because of -ленд or -ланд), «в Шри-Ланке».

but,

[hofmann.livejournal.com]

«в Шри-Ланке» is used when one means country;
«на Шри-Ланке» is used when one means island.
Both forms are used equally.

Re: but,

[wolk-off.livejournal.com]

>«на Шри-Ланке» is used when one means island

note that on Russian maps, the island that contains the state of Sri Lanka is called Цейлон (Ceylon, its former name from the times when it was the British colony.)

[alexanders2005.livejournal.com]

«в Шри-Ланке» when we are talking about this country but
"на Шри-Ланке" when we are talking about the island.

[upthera44.livejournal.com]

Does the difference between the peninsular states of Florida/California and Alaska (the former use в and Alaska на) have any historical significance? Perhaps the typical Russian grammar approach to states is to use the preposition в, but because Alaska was originally a Russian province, perhaps it was already being used with на, and when it became a U.S. state it didn't seem appropriate to change it all of a sudden. Just a guess...

[astraea2728.livejournal.com]

The fact that Alaska used to be a Russian province was the explanation I was always given by my professors. They said that to Russia Alaska was like an island detached from the country. They may have been trying to just give us some way to remember it though... :)

[wolk-off.livejournal.com]

Well, many Russian peninsulas require на: на Камчатке, на Чукотке, на Таймыре. Being the part of Russian Empire for a solid chunk of 19th century, Alaska just follows the same pattern.

[alon_68]

I've just realized that we use "на" for all almost uninhabited northern peninsulas: на Таймыре, на Ямале, на Камчатке, на Чукотке. Perhaps, Аляска historically belongs to the same line.

[mytza.livejournal.com]

Na Chukotke (peninsula) - but how you do you refer to the Chukotka okrug, or the other federal subjects of Russia?

[oryx_and_crake]

it requires в, as other federal subjects, regions etc. do do: в Чукотском округе, в Московской области, в Узбекистане etc.

[alon_68]

We use "в" if the word "округ" is explicitly provided:

Я три года жил в Чукотском округе

but

Я три года жил на Чукотке

[sibir-muzhyk.livejournal.com]

Is California the peninsular state? Definitely no. At least for me. Or are we talking about mexican one?

[upthera44.livejournal.com]

Yea, you're right. Not sure what I was thinking when i wrote that... but the Florida part stays.

[sibir-muzhyk.livejournal.com]

There is a special suffix to define region "-щина". Such informal regions require "на" always.
examples:
(seriously)
Тамбов - Тамбовщина - на Тамбовщине
Харьков - Харьковщина - на Харьковщине

(as a joke)
Калифорния ->Калифорнийщина - на Калифорнийщине