Definite articles

[Adassovsky Georges]

>On Fri, 18 Aug 2000, Stepan wrote:
>
>>  In my opinion (and in the opinion of some linguists who teached me),
>>  grammar rules come from the way people speak, and are recorded by
>>  linguists. Languages stand on usage...
>
>And the "way people speak" is affected by social, political and cultural
>influences.  As these influences change and assert themselves, so does
>usage, and, eventually grammar rules.

Certainly. So, let's wait until the English speaking people change
its usage concerning this definite article, and after that, grammar
rules will evoluate.

>In the case of "the Ukraine" there have been arguments posed here
>that the grammar rule requires "the" to be stricken since Ukraine is now
>independent.  I have seen little if any refutation of these rules -

I've never heard of the definite article tied with the independance
of countries.

Georges.

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