ESL Podcast 959 - A Territorial Dispute
territorial dispute - a disagreement about which country an area of land belongs to, or which person owns a particular piece of land
If this town is the subject of a territorial dispute, which country do the residents pay taxes to?
to claim - to state that one is the owner of something; to state that something belongs to oneself
At this bus station, if nobody claims a suitcase within 48 hours, it will be sent to a warehouse for storage.
to annex - to add or attach something to something else, especially when talking about adding an area of land to a city, county, or country
The city is trying to annex nearby farmland for more housing development.
to recognize - to officially believe that something has happened and agree to it
The rebels announced that they've created their own country, but the government refuses to recognize their claim.
boundary - border; an imaginary line showing the outer edge or limit of something
U.S. politicians sometimes try to change the boundaries of their voting districts so that their political party has an advantage.
to contend - during an argument or dispute, to say that something is true, knowing that the other side disagrees with the statement
The company contends that the layoffs were unavoidable, but the employees who were fired have a different opinion.
demarcation - setting or establishing a boundary or limit of something, especially changing it from what it was previously
At the end of the war, the demarcation of the nation's boundaries was controversial, because they passed directly through several villages, splitting the population and even families into two different countries.
border - a line drawn on a map to separate two political units; imaginary lines that show where one county, state, country, or city ends and another begins
If the border between two states is a river, which state is responsible for paying for buiding a bridge?
to rule over - to govern and control an area or a group of people; to have governing authority in a particular area
The king dreamed of ruling over the entire continent.
possession is nine-tenths of the law - a phrase meaning that whoever actually has an object or lives on the land has a right to own it, even if another person is the official, legal owner of it
In some countries, a landlord who allows a family to live on a property for more than 20 years risks losing ownership of that property, because possession is nine-tenths of the law.
treaty - a formal legal agreement between two countries, especially at the end of a war
The Treaty of Versailles was signed at the end of World War I.
conflict - dispute; fighting; war
Thousand of soldiers have died in the conflict.
wording - the way something is expressed when spoken or written down; the words chosen to describe something
The editor said that the story is interesting, but the wording is too awkward.
vague - unclear, uncertain, and difficult to understand; not precise or exact
Saying that a sales campaign was "extremely successful" is vague. How did you measure that success?
to commit a crime - to break the law; to do something that is not allowed under the law
Anyone who has committed a crime is not allowed to work at the school.
jurisdiction - official legal power and authority over a particular area; the ability to create laws and make legal decisions in a specific place or area of land
The crime occurred in multiple states, so it's unclear which state has jurisdiction.