SWISS - SWEDERLAND
Which pairs of countries confuse Americans the most? Apparently the list includes Austria and Australia, Uruguay and Paraguay - and Sweden and Switzerland. And it’s not only Americans who confuse the Swiss and Swedes. It prompts confusion in China as well with the two names sounding similar in Mandarin (the same is true of Spanish as well). So much so that several years ago the SWISS and Swedish consulates in Shanghai ran a competition asking local residents
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for funny ways to differentiate the two countries. Similarly, a blog exists explaining the difference between the two countries for the uninitiated. Lufthansa owned SWISS used the insight that the two countries often get mixed up to run a competition to win flights to “Swederland.” “We decided to put an end to the confusion by sending those in need of clarification to