Russian language rules

[Paul B. Gallagher]

Tony Lin wrote:

> Dear All,
> 
> Which preposition should one use when referring to Taiwan? I know in 
> Polish they use "na", but I have heard different versions in Russian. 
> Taiwan may be tricky because it is both an island and a country. Is 
> there a general rule when to use the preposition "na" vs. "v"? What 
> about expressing locations in Florida? in Sicily?

Google reports 70,100 hits for "на тайване" but only 8,290 for "в 
тайване." Looks pretty conclusive to me.

For Florida, it's 993 and 884, but 160,000 for "во флориде" -- even more 
conclusive.

The results are less clear for Sicily:
	"в сицилии" -- 11,900
	"на сицилии" -- 44,600
So apparently "в" is a valid minority option, or else a very common error.

-- 
War doesn't determine who's right, just who's left.
--
Paul B. Gallagher
pbg translations, inc.
"Russian Translations That Read Like Originals"
http://pbg-translations.com

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