"the" before country (and university) names

[Benjamin Zimmer]

On Tue, May 13, 2008 at 8:02 AM, Janet Marting <marting at uakron.edu> wrote:
>
>  I wonder if this thread has any connection to the use of "the" before
>  university names. When "The" did not precede my university's name (Akron) in
>  a publication, I heard about it.  (I find it a tad presumptuous to
>  capitalize the article of my place of employment, The University of Akron,
>  just as I cring at hearing The Ohio State University, while other schools in
>  the state, for example, are not called The Miami University or The Ohio
>  University.)  I don't recall my graduate schools being called The Colorado
>  State University or The Michigan State University.  Hmm.  Any reactions or
>  clarifications?

For starters, you should check out Arnold Zwicky's Language Log post on the
"The" in TOSU:

http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/003548.html


--Ben Zimmer

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