Ukraine

[Loren A. Billings]

Dear colleagues,

Wasn't there discussion of this very topic on this list or perhaps
LINGUIST recently?  (Keith, you just posted something to LINGUIST this
week; check and see.)

I, for one, definitely got the feeling of _the Ukraine_ as a sub-entity
(of greater Russia perhaps).  Other examples:  _the Sudan_ was the term
used to refer to the sub-Saharan semi-arid *region* (now called _the
Sahel_), while _Sudan_ is the nation-state occupying much of that region.

Yes, it definitely was on LINGUIST, about a year ago.

Oh yes:  I was in the OVIR in the town of Dubno (Rivnens'ka oblast') in
the summer of 1992, and instructions on filling out visa applications or
the like included, in Ukrainian, _v Ukrajini_ 'in (the) Ukraine'.
Incidentally, the "where-to" form in Ukrainian does not use _v_ + accusative,
but rather (like West Slavic) _do_ + genitive (i.e., _do Ukrajiny_ 'into
(the) Ukraine').

Best,  --Loren Billings