When does a country become "The"?
- Thread starter Yank
- Start date
tones
Tones deaf
The Gambia is one of a small number of countries for which the definite article is commonly used in its English-language name and where the name is not either plural or descriptive (e.g. "the Philippines" or "the United Kingdom").[25] The article is also officially used by the country's government and by international bodies. The article was originally used because the region was named after "The Gambia [River]". In 1964, shortly prior to the country's independence, Prime Minister Dawda Jawara wrote to the Permanent Committee on Geographical Names for British Official Use requesting that the name The Gambia retain the definite article, in part to reduce confusion with Zambia which had also recently become independent.
PsB
Citizen of Nowhere™
I believe it's Lebanon in current English usage and has been for some time.
'The Lebanon' presumably came from Arabic (al Lubnaan) and French (le Liban) usage, but it seems very old fashioned these days. Likewise: Sudan.
The Netherlands because it's a plural (see also the Philippines).
Bob McC
Living the life of Riley
Ukraine has always been Ukraine hasn’t it?
I know my daughter in Law who is of Ukrainian extraction gets very cross when she hears “The Ukraine” used.
gintonic
50 shades of grey pussy cats
Jubal
pfm Member
Huh? Meaningless.
THE Ukraine is most certainly not "the".
It was added as a slur by a Czar, to belittle it. To understand precisely how, and what flows from that, you'd need to be pretty fluent in Russian.
Ukraine is Ukraine, no more, no less.
The Russians refer to Ukrainians, especailly the forces, as Hohols, definitely meant as a petty insult, but it refers to a hairstyle from way, way, way back in history in much the same way as mohecan can do, even though also a native American tribe. I'd be interested to know how current Ukrainians see it - if it were me, I'd wear it as a badge of honour.
(On a parallel track - Pakistan translates roughly as the land of the clean, even though it is actually an anagram of the constituent states.)
It was added as a slur by a Czar, to belittle it. To understand precisely how, and what flows from that, you'd need to be pretty fluent in Russian.
Ukraine is Ukraine, no more, no less.
The Russians refer to Ukrainians, especailly the forces, as Hohols, definitely meant as a petty insult, but it refers to a hairstyle from way, way, way back in history in much the same way as mohecan can do, even though also a native American tribe. I'd be interested to know how current Ukrainians see it - if it were me, I'd wear it as a badge of honour.
(On a parallel track - Pakistan translates roughly as the land of the clean, even though it is actually an anagram of the constituent states.)
Seeker_UK
Feelin' nearly faded as my jeans
The Argentine Republic or Argentina
les24preludes
pfm Member
The North Pole, The South Pole.
Officially owned by an oligarchy of penguins.
Officially owned by an oligarchy of penguins.
Yank
Bulbous Also Tapered
...and with "Nambia", which exists only in Donald Trump's imagination.
palindrome
Thru a hedge, backwards and forwards.
'Nambia' is what happens when you suck your alphabet soup through a straw. Drumpf is still waiting to see what comes after 'N'.
John
Yank
Bulbous Also Tapered
"N stands for Narcissism"
palindrome
Thru a hedge, backwards and forwards.
No wonder the Orange One is stuck there. . .
John
John