[Mesorah] Fw: Heh Hayedia

[Michael Hamm]

R' Akiva Miller <kennethgmiller at juno.com>:
<<I never noticed how we refer to this country. I can't imagine any
case where I would verbally mention "United States" with having "the"
precede it. One exception in writing would be signage, such as the
card in front of the UN ambassador, which simply reads "United
States". Before posting, I reviewed this paragraph with my wife, who
pointed out that it probably applies equally well to the United
Kingdom.>>

And many another place name that looks like a plural noun ("the
Netherlands", "the Bahamas", "the Badlands"), and many another place
name that looks like a common noun with an adjective (or prepositional
phrase) modifying it ("the tri-state area", "the Bermuda Triangle",
"the Russian Federation", and, in *some* cases, "the [Whatever]
Sea/River/Territory/Lake/Mountains/Cetera").  We've strayed pretty far
from the list's topic.

-- 
Michael Hamm
Postdoctoral Research Scholar
Department of Psychiatry
Washington University in St. Louis
St. Louis, Mo. 63110
msh210 at gmail.com