>>  "Australia" is a proper name.  As is say "China"
>
>No, both are descriptions. Australia is from the Latin australis,
>meaning Southern. China, "Zhong Guo", means Middle Kingdom.

No, what you're describing is the etymology of the words.  For 
instance, the etymology of "John" is "butt-ugly village man" or 
something, the etymology of "America" (the continent) comes from I 
believe some explorer guy's first name.  And so on.

If you do not understand the difference between a proper noun / proper name,

(Wikipedia!  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proper_name )

and a descriptive phrase, in grammar -- indeed in language! -- if you 
actually DO NOT UNDERSTAND the difference between a proper name, and 
a description, it is likely you ... can't actually talk a language!

>>  (It is inconceivable that anyone is
>>  so silly they fail to understand this.)
>
>It is quite conceivable, and wholly unsurprising, that you are venting
>so much hyperbole about such a cut & dry topic.

Nothing, whatsoever, that I have said, has, in the slightest, had any 
connection to hyperbole.

For instance, above, I

(1) point out that you are rabbiting about etymology

(2) point out what a proper name is (aside --------- this is now one 
of these utterly stupendous internet discussions where you have to 
argue about something like .. no, hold me up ... "WHAT A VERB" is, or 
the like.)

(3) remind you that it is inconceivable that someone can not 
understand the difference between a noun, a naming symbol, and a 
descriptive phrase.

(indeed, if someone - say, my 4 year old? - could not really 
understand the difference between words like "John" "Ian" "China" and 
descriptive phrases like "Family Head" "Big Asian Country" ...... it 
is likely that we could say they just don't use language fully.)

>
>Viking Coder

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