Cross-post 196 and NonCredibleDefense. Sh.itJustWorks
this post was submitted on 05 Feb 2024
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I honestly can't tell if they're being satirical or not...
It is an actual Russian "divide and conquer" troll. A "warm water port" is exactly how you string that sentence together in Russian. A Texan would first of all call it a harbor (port is the word for it in Russian, so likely a direct translation), secondly wouldn't mention that at all, since an "ice port" isn't even a thing anywhere in the US, except for Alaska, and having an ice free one is nothing to brag about. In Russia it is a big deal and is a matter of national pride, hence the Crimea takeover. It's more than just land to them.
Ehm, warm water port is absolutely the correct term for it. See: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port
Also, a Texan with a bit of knowledge would absolutely call it a port, especially if they're talking about the Port of Houston, for example: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_of_Houston
I don't know where this guy is from, but maybe you should be slightly more cautious with your linguistic judgements.
My point was - "warm water port" (which is precisely тепловодный порт) is nothing to brag about in the US, most ports here are. But it has been a largely discussed point by Russians in Russia, and primarily has been mentioned by Putin as a point of pride for Russia, as they have only 2 of those in the country.
You've gotta agree, it is very odd to hear somebody who wouldn't have been exposed to Putin's speeches regarding the importance of "warm water ports" even mention it as a first point, especially being from Texas. Every port up and down East and West coast is a "warm water port".
I'm not saying that this is what I would call a stereotypical Texan argument, but framing it like the wording immediately makes them a Russian troll is just pretty far fetched. Especially claiming that port is a weird word in its own.
Perhaps I should have prefaced my argument with the fact that I'm bilingual, I spent half of my life over there and half in the US and I tend to pick up on the slight wording differences. But I do see where you are coming from with the skepticism. I appreciate you fact checking me on this. I agree, port is not specifically a Russian word, but it would be a primary choice of a word for a Russian speaker, as well as the primary bragging point.
You aren't wrong. I am an average american in the southwest and no one says "warm water port". None of them freeze south of Alaska. Its a useless distinction for 95% of the country.
Most Americans on the west coast call any place a shipping container can unload or an aircraft carrier to dock a port.
A grand total of zero Americans would ever think to disambiguate a warm water port or not. Especially from Texas. That's the weird part. Not the word port itself.
Harbor is usually reserved for non-commercial or fishing use only.
No Texans call it a “warm water port”. Definitely a port, but the warm water part of this is mega strange.
Alright, I'll bite.
I grew up in Oklahoma and Texas. Didn't move to Tennessee until my 20s. No, we would not call it "warm water port." I've literally never seen anything bigger than a pond with ice on it. Why would it occur to me to mention it's warmth?
And where I'm from a sentence like "be slightly more cautious with your linguistic judgements" is the kind of pretentious nonsense that gets you disinvited from the barbecue so I recommend being slightly more cautious your own damn self.
Yeah, see, if you can't read my comment correctly, you might not be the best audience.
I explicitly wrote, that warm water port wasn't an usual term and that Texans wouldn't call such a structure harbor, but port since their port is literally called - wait for it - port.
Maybe a bit less BBQ and more reading comprehension would do you a favor.
Suuuuuper pretentious. Needlessly so.
I can tell you're one of those people who likes to believe they pride themselves on their intelligence, but the truth is, you pride yourself on using it like a cudgel in a vainglorious attempt to feel better than others.
I think we'd be better off if we disengage here.
"warm water port" is a term I exclusively associate with Russia, because the only time it was ever mentioned for me was in a world history class, talking about Russian expansion to secure one.
While "port" might be a normal word, the phrase is a key to know where it comes from.
I know this one! It was mentioned specifically as Port Arthur, a contention of the russo-japanese war, at the turn of the 1900s. Specifically would call your attention to the part where they lost their main fleet, and called upon the Baltic Fleet (yes hoho THAT baltic) that made a trip around Africa in what became known as the Voyage of the Damned for all of the absolute chicanery and Lethal stupidity that took place on that nearly 9 month trip that culminated in catastrophic losses for the russians, and is one of the major pressures on Tzar Nicholas II to get involved in ww1.
Anyway that's one of the parts of the story as of how we're all in this fucking mess.
It is very a arctic way of speaking/writing. "Isfrie havner" (ice free ports) is a norwegian way of saying "warm water port"