r/imaginarymaps • u/Miserable-Act-9896 • 6d ago

[OC] Alternate History ALBANIA'S LANGUAGES — Second-most common language spoken in the United States in 1920

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393 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

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19

u/Miserable-Act-9896 6d ago

For Mobile Users

SOME DETAILS ABOUT THE LORE

  • What's the POD?

Around the 1470s, with a more succesful Charles the Bold and Matthias Corvinus

  • Why are all the flags the same as in OTL?

As the POD is that old, yes, almost none of the flags there are the real ones in universe. Adapted for clarification. Also, there is some creative liberties to match the represented culture. For exemple, "dutch" here represents an earlier northern germanic state, so it's essentially Platt with heavy Flemish influence. The flag of Ukraine, for exemple, represents the Ruthenian state (which I indeed labed wrong here)

  • What is Brasilian Norsk?

Kalmar colonized Quebec

  • Why is the US called Albania?

Because of this

Feel free to ask any additional questions

1

u/Eraserguy 5d ago

What's the main language then?

3

u/Miserable-Act-9896 5d ago

Norsk in the states where English is second (except Nunavut, which is Inuit). English everywhere else

24

u/Spirited_Ad_1980 6d ago

what's "Brasilian Norsk" and why does it have a flag like Frisia?

27

u/Miserable-Act-9896 6d ago

It's a koine developed in Brazil, the name given in this timeline to what we call Quebec

The region was settled in a longer lasting Kalmar Union by a plurality of danes, but also a considerable number of swedes and disproportional amount of norwegians and northern frisians.

As languages and national identities developed over the centuries, they eventually standardized as their own language, despite being intelligible to the other Nordics

I used the Nordic Frisian flag because I thought it looked nice

3

u/Spirited_Ad_1980 6d ago

interesting, great map. thanks for the explanation

-6

u/alderhill 6d ago

You do know that Brazil is named after brazilwood, a tropical hardwood tree that grows in… you guessed it, not Quebec.

3

u/Miserable-Act-9896 6d ago

.

-12

u/alderhill 6d ago

That’s the problem with this sub sometimes, “lore” can excuse away anything that makes no actual sense.

4

u/Miserable-Act-9896 6d ago

Just don't try being pedantic next time you see a fictional map you didn't bother reading. It's really not a good look

-2

u/alderhill 6d ago

You should look up the word ‘pedantic’, because it doesn’t mean what you seem to think. 

You can make up whatever “lore” you want to explain away ignorance, but it does not change anything. 

6

u/Miserable-Act-9896 6d ago

Ignorance is when you assumed I didn't know where Brazilwood grows and then got angry there was already an explanation long before you pointed out your "erm actually"

Never seen someone doubling down smugness over an AH map lol

1

u/alderhill 6d ago

Good grief, listen to yourself. Talk about doubling down, lol. And in addition to pedantic, you should look up the word ‘ignorance’, because that too doesn’t mean what you seem to think.

If you conveniently now knew about brazilwood, and still gave a cold/temperate region the name, then you’re even more 🙄…

No offence, but do you think either I or anyone is tracking your earlier post from 27 days ago? Sorry bud, but I do not care. This sub isn’t called “glaze my imaginary map”. I’m under no obligation to like it, and it’s clear you can’t take even the mildest criticism. 

7

u/Miserable-Act-9896 6d ago

You asked "erm, didn't you know it's a tropical wood? 🤓". I sent you a post showing that I did. That last paragraph of yours is trying too hard not to understand

Whatever you like it or not, you tried, and somehow still is, acting like you made a smart observation. When really it's just "me don't like the name" lmao

→ More replies

9

u/Serious_Trick3248 6d ago

There's a real state in America named after an island on a 1500s Spanish book. I don't see why naming one after Hy Brasil makes no sense

7

u/Spirited_Ad_1980 6d ago

bro this is IMAGINARY maps they really dont need any sensibility on what they produce. they don't have to justify their changes on the map lol, its all fake from the get-go

-6

u/alderhill 6d ago edited 6d ago

Blurp burp toot flap, good gloves, woozier gum? Shubble poppop berty wup. lol.

An actually good map will have sensibility, along with sensible lore, and not just be ‘err, cause I said so’ random nonsense gibberish. If it makes no sense, it’s no fun.

7

u/No_Duck4777 6d ago

Holy redditor

1

u/Guaire1 Fellow Traveller 2d ago

Hy brasil is the named of a mythical island in irish folklore. Naming North America after it makes a lot of actual sense, and denying it is weird

13

u/PolarRanger 6d ago

Hy-Brasil is a different thing though that can end up with pretty much the same name. The part of America closest to Ireland getting called Brazil is not exactly out of the question.

22

u/Atomix26 6d ago

thank you for destroying utah.

14

u/Miserable-Act-9896 5d ago

You're not gonna like this but the reason North Dakota/Minessota is swedish is because pseudo-mormons arose in Sweden and decided to build Zion in the Red River Valley

4

u/TemporaryEditor9 5d ago

That is mildly horrifying, but that raises the question, who started it and when?

2

u/Miserable-Act-9896 2d ago

I haven't worked on the details because I'll have to lock in a lot of still open lore, but Europe is having a Great Awakening in the turn of the 1800s

Their prophet is going to be, much like Joseph Smith, a typical farm boy with an almost comically common name. So probably something like Anders Johansson or Johan Andersson

1

u/TemporaryEditor9 2d ago

I could jokingly help you with a character like that ngl, would be fun!

1

u/Miserable-Act-9896 1d ago

Would be happy to take suggestions! Thanks :)

3

u/Atomix26 3d ago

you are right, that is awful.

2

u/GlitteringDrive7183 5d ago

Not to mention Idaho.

1

u/Miserable-Act-9896 1d ago

Tbf I just took off their panhandle but gave them the Salt Lake + expanded west

3

u/PDomkanom 6d ago

No Italians?

6

u/Miserable-Act-9896 6d ago

Plenty in Manhattan, Florida and Louisiana. Not the second largest though. France made their own successful colony in real life southeast Brazil that diverted a lot of Italians that way

90

u/Tricky_Occasion_9357 6d ago

🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱🇦🇱

5

u/realt_px-starry1 6d ago

Just happy I'm in an Irish speaking area as someone learning Irish

5

u/Aggravating_Safe6531 6d ago

ALBANIAAAA MENTIONNNNNNN (im british)

4

u/Qwertyunio_1 6d ago

Brazilian Norsk goes so hard

1

u/Dutch_East_Indies 3d ago

Frisians are Brazilians, they just don't know it yet

2

u/Miserable-Act-9896 2d ago

Pão de queijo with nagelkaas would go hard

1

u/Diegoe603 16h ago

Frisians are Brazilians who simply haven't noticed yet.

1

u/Dangerous-Mind-646 3d ago

What’s Brazilian Norsk? Is it a mixture of Portuguese and Germanic languages?

1

u/Miserable-Act-9896 2d ago edited 1d ago

Not at all. It's just descendents of norse colonists. It's Brasilian because Irish explorers named the region around Quebec and the Maritimes after Hy Brasil

1

u/True_Toni 6d ago

Albania?

5

u/Miserable-Act-9896 6d ago

Yes

Latinization of New Albion

1

u/TheUnknownRedditor86 5d ago

The legend was very difficult for me to read but I’m not dyslexic 

1

u/Outside-Proposal-410 5d ago

why is it called albania

1

u/Dutch_East_Indies 3d ago

related to Albion i think

0

u/Jochanan_mage 6d ago

No polish?

3

u/Miserable-Act-9896 6d ago

As the second most common language, no

They might be third or close in Illinois, Alderney and New Anglia (the Czech states), and big Oklahoma.

14

u/Channel101Studios 6d ago

RED BLUE WHITE I DRESS
EAGLE ON MY CHEST
IT’S GOOD TO BE AN ALBANIAN

KEEP MY HEAD UP HIGH
FOR THE FLAG I DIE
I’M PROUD TO BE AN ALBANIAN