Is Africa considered the west?

I'm just curious i've always heard the terms..... west, western, far east, middle east..

 

but what is Africa considered?  West?  If you look at it geographically the western part of Africa is more west then Europe.

 

What do you think ?

I think Africa was always called Africa (since Roman times). Middle East, India and Asia were clumped together as the "East/Orient".

I would say that when today someone says "Africa" or "African countries" he often dont even think about whole Africa as continent but only about its biggest part inhabitated by native africans. Its rare to hear that for example Libya or Egipt are african countries. Most of journalists seems to drop them to the "islamic countries" category or even "arabic countries" category, often ignoring the fact the people who live there are not arabs.

But yet they speak arabic.
The label 'arab' is yet another vauge label used in different ways, i've heard the term 'black arabs' to refer so the Sudanese on times.

Hmm, Arabians = from Arabia.

It is more of a general term than an actual ethnicity now, except for the actual arabs.  Like Palestinian Arabs, Egyptian Arabs, etc.

Such general terms facilitate things, although it irks me personally when Malaysians call Portuguese adventurers "Franks".

Even Austria and Scandinavia might be considered Central Europe nowadays.  You have to remember, these terms change over time.

Edit:  As in, near the west, but not perhaps in it.


Edited by Kubrat

Originally posted by Shifty Russian When ever people speak of the West - Romania, Poland, Russia - doesn't really spring to mind and Especially neither does Africa. The west I believe is UK - Germany - France - Switz - Spain (maybe Italy) Central Europe - from Greece up to Poland and then Estern Europe is anything east of Poland / Hungary. The middle east is just a term to describe an area of al the arab nations - middle of Everything, East of Western Europe ^^ Africa is just Africa - so if one is to talk about west africa - they would do so specifically. Although the term "West" is rather vague. West? West of where? if talking about the Western World - countries from all over the world fit into that catagory. America, Australia - Western Europe (i think the other term for it 1st World)

        what are you talking about, Denis?

Cetral Europe is the area which - as someone else said, in the west is considered as east and in the east as west. And more or less it is Finland, Poland, Czech republic and Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, all the states which in the past were part of the former Yugoslavia, Greece and in the past also eastern Germany (and Albania, a country which seems to be forgotten by God and people).

I would also count as central Europe - even if there are so many people who consider it as eastern Europe (i guess mostly because of ignorance and lack of education) Baltic Countries, because this division is rather more historical/cultural/linguistic than geographical. In fact i belive that even turkey can be in some sence of this word called "eastern european country" because such claim has its historical background.

Central european countries got its completelly unique culture and history which was influenced by both western and eastern european cultures and traditions, what often was leading to the birth of completelly new cultures and traditions of new and completelly unique quality.

This cultures were often not able to evoluate independently because of the preassure of east or west (eg. being occupied by Russia like Finland, Baltic states, eastern Poland or being occupied by Austria or Germany (Hungary, western and southern Poland, Bohemia etc) but during moments when were independent were creating somthing completelly new (eg. political system, poetry, music, literature) very different from both east and west.

Multinational and multi religious structure of central european countries which was often their main political weakneess was also often the reason of its cultural strenght.

Edited by Mosquito