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In the U.S., if one is making reference to a city in this country, in particular one that is not as well-known as say New York or Los Angeles, one will typically name the city plus the state it's in. Thus, one would refer to "Tulsa, Oklahoma" or "Grand Rapids, Michigan." But when an American is referencing a foreign city, it's just the name of the city and country, without any reference to the state or province that it's in. Thus, we would refer to "Winnipeg, Canada" or "Sydney, Australia," not "Winnipeg, Manitoba" or "Sydney, New South Wales."
So how do non-Americans refer to American cities? Would they say "Tulsa, United States" or "Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States" or "Tulsa, America" or something else?
Most non-Americans haven't a clue about states and which cities belong to which states. This is natural.
Americans do not say "Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland," because they also don't have a clue about those provincial divisions in Britain, either.
It's not a parallel case. The UK has a country, counties, and cities. The USA has a country, states, counties, and cities. States are major divisions, not minor ones like counties. If someone mentions "Springfield, USA?" they will immediately be asked "In which state?" And if he doesn't know, then no one will have the faintest idea which city he is talking about,
I understand this can happen in the UK too, as there are a few instances of two cities in different counties having the same name, but the extent of the problem is not nearly as great. Yes, in the US you really need to specify the state unless the name is unique and unmistakable ("Salt Lake City" "Honolulu").
My sense is that anglosphere people have enough exposure to American popular culture that they'll almost always name the state as if it was a "country".
So an Australian would say "my cousin goes to uni in Tulsa, Oklahoma", not "Tulsa, USA". Or they might just say "in Oklahoma" and not even name the city or the country.
I also think that in French-speaking Europe at least all of the major states are quite well known. So you'd hear stuff like "elle habite à Denver au Colorado" and the speaker would not think it necessary to name the country.
Perhaps for some more obscure state names they might name the country though: "Il vient de Wilmington au Delaware aux États-Unis". Or they might say "Wilmington, Delaware, près de Philadelphie". People would clue in to that too.
Most non-Americans haven't a clue about states and which cities belong to which states. This is natural.
Americans do not say "Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland," because they also don't have a clue about those provincial divisions in Britain, either.
I don't think it matters if people know which cities belong to which states.
Here in Lithuania, people will mention the state if it's better known than the city.
For example, California is better known than any Californian city except for LA, so people will say "I've been to LA in the United States" but they will say "I've been to San Francisco, California in the United States".
By the way, my coworker went to LA last autumn with a group of friends, then drove to SF and Utah. When he got back, he didn't know that SF is in California. He's fairly educated, he's been to SF and still he didn't know.
Majority of people know that LA is in California, Miami is in Florida and maybe that Dallas is in Texas, otherwise most people don't have a clue about which cities belong to which state.
I don't think it matters if people know which cities belong to which states.
Here in Lithuania, people will mention the state if it's better known than the city.
For example, California is better known than any Californian city except for LA, so people will say "I've been to LA in the United States" but they will say "I've been to San Francisco, California in the United States".
By the way, my coworker went to LA last autumn with a group of friends, then drove to SF and Utah. When he got back, he didn't know that SF is in California. He's fairly educated, he's been to SF and still he didn't know.
Majority of people know that LA is in California, Miami is in Florida and maybe that Dallas is in Texas, otherwise most people don't have a clue about which cities belong to which state.
A lot of people know that San Francisco is in California. Even in Russia, many average people know this.
Would you mind sharing with us, what is a Chukcha doing in Lithuania? Inquiring minds want to know.
If a city is one of the 40-solme largest metros, only the city is needed. Dallas, or Seattle or Philadelphia. Few foreigners know what states those are in. If it is not a major metro, the city name will be meaningless, and you would say Oklahoma or Georgia or Arizona, and then name the city if asked.
News York, Florida, Texas and California are the only states that foreigners can correctly locate on a map. They often know roughly where Chicago is, but not Illinois.
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