Brendan Dunlop puts James Sharman, Kristian Jack, Thomas Dobby and Richard Whittall to the test on the final TYK of the season. We discover inappropriate use of ‘the’ in several instances, our over-35 best XI, and one of the odder 23 England provisional squads ever put together by otherwise sane people. Enjoy!
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Does my head in when I hear North Americans put “the” in front of EPL teams.
“Tomorrow on ESPN its the Tottenham Hotspurs versus the Blackburn Rovers”
Seriously, sort it out!
It seems that the “the” in front of Ukraine is similar to the “the” in front of the United States. Wouldn’t most people say, “I’m going to THE United States” as opposed to “I’m going to United States”?
Just a thought…
It’s The United States because it’s a collection of States… Ukraine is a solitary country. Not ‘avin “The” Ukraine.
Hey Dobby,
I gave my two cents down below. I didn’t know you responded, else I would have posted directly to you.
What about Sudan. Are you visiting Sudan or are you visiting The Sudan?
According to Wiki (I knew), “Ukraine” means “the border region/territory” in ancient Slavic. From a Russian perspective, the Ukraine was colonial possession on the periphery of their territory. Thus the English transliteration of “the Ukraine” unintentionally perpetuates the notion that the country is merely an appendage of a larger Russian entity.
Ukrainians obviously think differently. They translate the word as “u-kraine”, or “our country/homeland”. So, apparently (I don’t speak Russian or Ukrainian, so this could all be bullshit) either translation is acceptable and has a basis in historical reality, with “Ukraine” being a more PC alternative.
I’m quite surprised at how highly you guys rate Kyle Walker – normally you aren’t sucked into the English media hype machine but it seems KW is the exception. I think if he plays in the Euros he’s going to get exposed as a brainless speed merchant.