The Broncks', the borough of my childhood, fades away

[Doug Harris]

Among other places long provided the 'the' article, at least in
British English, include _The Lebanon_, a phrasing that always
annoyed me when I lived in England and heard newscasters say it,
on my assumption that the _The Lebanon_ was actually meant to
mean "the territory of Lebanon". Even if that were the case, I
still wonder what the Brits did, and perhaps still do, mean in
referring to _The Zambia_.
(the other) doug


I wonder whether the loss of formerly traditional "the" from some
other place names, such as Ukraine and Yukon (the latter of which
still gets the article with a certain frequency), might have had any
subtle influence on this -- perhaps a little nagging idea that "the"
for a place name is improper. I wouldn't stand behind this
speculation without lots of further evidence, but such prescriptive
extensions from abductions aren't unknown, ISTM.

But think how the loss of the article would have changed Ogden Nash's
disapprobation into acceptance by forcing the deletion of "no" to fit
the meter:

Bronx?
Thonx!

James Harbeck.

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