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- "Danmark ligger i Skandinavie…
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"Skandinavien", is that the definite article form? I ask because of the -en ending. Would that be used in this sort of grammar structure?
No, it’s just a common ending for geographical places, corresponding to -ia in English. It’s the same in German.
In the United States, Scandinavia is typically the geographic entity if Norway, Sweden, and Finland, but it usually refers to the linguistic and cultural region of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark.
As far as I know Denmark is not in scandinavia ... or does the term scandinavia reffer to all nordic countries?
"Scandinavia" is a rather cumbersome concept since people have different opinions of what it means. Here in Sweden, people usually talk about Sweden, Norway and Denmark, but some want to include Finland and some want to exclude Denmark.
Scandinavia is rarely used as a concept in Scandinavia. To me, it feels more like something Americans talk about...
We prefer "Norden" or the Nordic Region because everybody agrees on what that is.
Well, it's not that easy, as the Baltic states, and especially Estonia, are trying to distance themselves from "Eastern European" label and slowly convincing others they are a part of Norden as well :-)
Does it also take in account the fact that Finnish is not a germanic/"nordic" language?
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Norden isn't so much about language but more about similar political and cultural structures. It has also been possible to travel without passport within Norden since the 1950's. Common issues are discussed in Nordiska rådet (Nordic Council).
The far most common definition of Scandinavia is Sweden, Denmark and Norway.
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This is an awesome and informative video explaining the different Scandinavias by CGP Grey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsXMe8H6iyc
