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The 'The' Countries
21 Answers
Why do we precede some countries' names with the word 'the? eg, The Gambia, The Sudan, The Lebanon, etc.
You never hear 'The Switzerland', or 'The Brazil', do you?
You never hear 'The Switzerland', or 'The Brazil', do you?
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1: Never heard of The Lebanon? Ever heard of The Human League? One of their big hit singles was titled exactly that. Nowadays, the media do tend to drop the 'The', partly because it's a bit cumbersome, but possibly also because it's an uncomfortable reminder of less acceptable attitudes in our colonial past.
2: I have my own theory as to the origin - probably something to do with what I said above, and possibly referring to what were once thought of as ill-defined tracts of land with no proper borders or government, and therefore 'up for grabs'.
3: 'Vive Le France' is really just a linguistic quirk - many foreign countries use the definite article when talking about countries. But as far as I'm aware, that has never been a feature of our language, so it does make this question 'QI', as Stephen Fry would say!
2: I have my own theory as to the origin - probably something to do with what I said above, and possibly referring to what were once thought of as ill-defined tracts of land with no proper borders or government, and therefore 'up for grabs'.
3: 'Vive Le France' is really just a linguistic quirk - many foreign countries use the definite article when talking about countries. But as far as I'm aware, that has never been a feature of our language, so it does make this question 'QI', as Stephen Fry would say!
Answers coming thick and fast!
CheekyChops, I really don't think this has anything to do with it! If you look at the official notepaper of virtually any country's embassy, it will almost invariably say 'Embassy of The Republic of...", etc. In this case, the word 'The' is purely optional, but for official purposes, it would be correct for any country to be known as 'The Republic of...', etc.
CheekyChops, I really don't think this has anything to do with it! If you look at the official notepaper of virtually any country's embassy, it will almost invariably say 'Embassy of The Republic of...", etc. In this case, the word 'The' is purely optional, but for official purposes, it would be correct for any country to be known as 'The Republic of...', etc.
I think today, the �the� used in country names are generally in a formal context, usually to define the unification of elements, states or regions. All examples you have given can provide for the formal name and the name of the country in common usage. Brazil for example can be The Federative Republic of Brazil and Switzerland can be The Swiss Confederation. Similarly for verbal impact The United States of America and The United Kingdom, which could both suffice without �the�.
�The� is a definite article used before singular and plural nouns that refer to a particular member of a group. In English most countries never take the definite article, but there are many that do. It is commonly used with many country names which derive from names of island groups (the Philippines), mountain ranges (the Lebanon), deserts (the Sudan), and other geographic expressions (the Netherlands). Such use is declining, but for some countries it remains common.
Because country names are now so familiar and the divisional history is less so, we in the UK might forget that �The Italian Republic� is in fact a (fairly modern) conglomeration of several kingdoms (Sardinia, Piedmont Sardinia etc) and just call it �.Italy.
�The� is a definite article used before singular and plural nouns that refer to a particular member of a group. In English most countries never take the definite article, but there are many that do. It is commonly used with many country names which derive from names of island groups (the Philippines), mountain ranges (the Lebanon), deserts (the Sudan), and other geographic expressions (the Netherlands). Such use is declining, but for some countries it remains common.
Because country names are now so familiar and the divisional history is less so, we in the UK might forget that �The Italian Republic� is in fact a (fairly modern) conglomeration of several kingdoms (Sardinia, Piedmont Sardinia etc) and just call it �.Italy.
'the' is sometimes used for regions (the Sahel etc) and countries generally don't like it to be used of them since it sounds as if they're not real countries. In the past people have spoken (in English) of the Ukraine, the Lebanon, the Sudan; but in each case the 'the' has now been dropped. I've been told by a Gambian that they don't being The Gambia because it saves people mixing them up with Zambia.
Ukraine is both the conventional short and long name of the country. This name is stated in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of Ukraine. Before the independence in 1991, Ukraine was a republic of the Soviet Union known as Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.
I suppose it would be a bit like the United Kingdom breaking up and calling the separate sates The England, The Wales etc etc.
Argentina comes from the latin for silver which is argentum. So formerly it was known as the silver land.
I suppose it would be a bit like the United Kingdom breaking up and calling the separate sates The England, The Wales etc etc.
Argentina comes from the latin for silver which is argentum. So formerly it was known as the silver land.
Seems I have some catching up to do!
Just taking everybody's responses generally, in no particular order:
OK, there seem to be several different shades of the concept here, covering things other than straightforward countries.
Clearly, any place which is named after a geographical feature will necessarily be preceded by the definite article. You could cite these examples endlessly - e.g. the Thames Estuary, the East Indies, the Garden of England, the Balkans, the Arctic Circle, the Benelux, the Pacific Rim, the Eastern Bloc, the Caribbean, the Levant - but I think this is beyond the specific question.
The examples of The United Kingdom and The United States of America are meaningless - this is just linguistically correct, and takes us nowhere.
And I think the whole business of the official names of countries such as 'The Republic of...' is a bit of a red herring, a digression.
For some strange reason, certain countries have always historically been known as 'The...', while others never have, and while there may not be a one-size-fits-all explanation, I believe that there is enough of a commonality between those that have, to make for a useful if small insight into how we came to divide the world up.
The Argentine is an odd one, though.
I still think there is something in my theory of borderless tracts of land up for grabs by our imperialist, colonialist predecessors!
Your further comments please!
Just taking everybody's responses generally, in no particular order:
OK, there seem to be several different shades of the concept here, covering things other than straightforward countries.
Clearly, any place which is named after a geographical feature will necessarily be preceded by the definite article. You could cite these examples endlessly - e.g. the Thames Estuary, the East Indies, the Garden of England, the Balkans, the Arctic Circle, the Benelux, the Pacific Rim, the Eastern Bloc, the Caribbean, the Levant - but I think this is beyond the specific question.
The examples of The United Kingdom and The United States of America are meaningless - this is just linguistically correct, and takes us nowhere.
And I think the whole business of the official names of countries such as 'The Republic of...' is a bit of a red herring, a digression.
For some strange reason, certain countries have always historically been known as 'The...', while others never have, and while there may not be a one-size-fits-all explanation, I believe that there is enough of a commonality between those that have, to make for a useful if small insight into how we came to divide the world up.
The Argentine is an odd one, though.
I still think there is something in my theory of borderless tracts of land up for grabs by our imperialist, colonialist predecessors!
Your further comments please!
Have not got the answer yet, but there is a definite reason. We visit The Gambia frequently and I recall being told the proper reason and it was logical - but for the life of me I cannot remember the answer.
Have sent an email to the Gambian HC asking for the answer. When I get it I will post it here.
Have sent an email to the Gambian HC asking for the answer. When I get it I will post it here.
OK, Paul, many thanks for your trouble - I'll look forward to that in due course.
I just hope it turns out not to be the same answer as the one from the earlier respondent who said it was to prevent people getting Gambia mixed up with Zambia. (This is clearly not the case, as the name of the country Zambia is much more recent, and Gambia was called The Gambia long before Zambia came into being as a state. At least, I think that's what he meant...).
I just hope it turns out not to be the same answer as the one from the earlier respondent who said it was to prevent people getting Gambia mixed up with Zambia. (This is clearly not the case, as the name of the country Zambia is much more recent, and Gambia was called The Gambia long before Zambia came into being as a state. At least, I think that's what he meant...).
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