Re: Countries with needless definite article.

[David Auerbach auerbach@xxxxxxxx]

The Bronx.
On Jan 8, at 1:49 PM, mje@xxxxxxxx wrote:
> [Flash:]
> > I've got it! It's "The U.A.R.", right?
>   There may be various ones I didn't think of - but I believe "the
> Lebanon" is the one I had in mind. It strikes me that it retains
> its definite article more often than most of the others I mentioned,
> perhaps with "the Phillipines" excepted. But the plural there makes
> it seem slightly different - although I must admit to not knowing
> what a "Phillipine" is.
>   But since "U.A.R." stands for "United Arab Republic", the "the"
> does make sense there, since (as Patricia pointed out with other
> examples) it has a generic quality, despite being an official proper
> noun phrase. We say "the United States" and "the United
> Kingdom" (or "the U.S." or "the U.K."), and that has never sounded
> odd to me.
> > Or maybe "The Peoples' Very Democratic And Now On Their Best Behavior
> > Cuz They're About To Host The Olympics Republic Of China"
>   What I have noticed is that countries that *call* themselves
> democratic are never in fact so.
>
>             Regards,
>              Michael Edwards.




David Auerbach
Department of Philosophy & Religion
Box 8103
NCSU
Raleigh, NC 27695-8103