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< Vocabulary 8—Places and Institutions in the USA

Vocabulary 8—Places and Institutions in the USA

Most of the names listed below are taken from Katzner’s dictionary, Russian literature, the BBC's Russian website <http://www.bbc.co.uk/russian/>, and the Watchtower. Some are taken from Wikipedia or from the blogs and on-line photo albums of visitors to the USA. Care was taken when consulting amateur sources since they frequently contradict one another or contain obvious errors.

Note that cardinal directions (North, South, etc.) in place names are translated into Russian.

*La Guardia Airport is frequently but incorrectly referred to as “Аэропорт Ла-Гуардия” by writers who are apparently unaware that it is named in honor of former New York City mayor Fiorello La Guardia.

*Connecticut is the name of the river itself. The State of Connecticut came later.

**Гудзонова река means “Hudson's River”. A common error is to refer to the river as “река Гудзон” as if it were Henry Hudson himself.

***The word “Westfield” in “Westfield River” is a noun used as an adjective. It is translated into Russian using an actual adjective to indicate that it is a river which goes through Westfield rather than a river named Westfield.

*The Verrazono bridge is named for Giovanni de Verrazano who was the first European to enter New York Harbor and the Hudson River. Верраццано is the Russian spelling of his surname. It is indeclinable.