美國的州名從何而來？

People who visit the United States sometimes wonder how the states got their names. Some of the most interesting names came from American Indian (印第安人) languages.

訪問美國的人們常常想知道各個州的名稱是從何而來的。一些最有趣的名字來源于(美州)印第安人的語言。

For example, Illinois was named for the Indians who used to (過去常常) live in that part of the country. In their language, Illinois means "Brave (勇敢的) Men". Connecticut means "At the Long River Mouth" in the language of the Indians who used to live there.

例如伊利諾州是因過去住在這一帶的印第安人而得名的。在他們的語言中伊利諾是"勇士"的意思。康乃狄格(州)在過去住在那里的印第安人的語言中,表示"在長河的河口"。

Twenty-five of the states have Indian names, but other names were taken from different languages. Georgia and Pennsylvania have names which were taken from the Latin (拉丁語的) language. Florida and Colorado were named by Spanish (西班牙) people. States like New Hampshire and New Jersey were named after (以…命名) places in England.

有25個州用印第安人的名稱命名,另外一些州的名字則從沒的語言中得來。喬治亞和賓夕法尼亞洲的名字源于拉丁文。佛羅里達和科羅拉多是由西班牙人命名的。像新罕布什爾和新澤西這樣的州名是按英國的地名命名的。

The two newest states have names which did not come from any of those languages. Hawaii got its name from a word in the Hawaiian language which means "homeland" (家鄉(xiāng)). Alaska was named by the Russians, from whom Alaska was bought in 1867.

最新的兩個州的名字不是來自于那些語言。夏威夷是按夏威夷語中的一個詞命名的,意思是"家鄉(xiāng)"。阿拉斯加州是1867年從俄國人手里買來的,而它的名字也是由俄國人命名的。