2009/6/27 Michael Snow <wikipe...@verizon.net>: > Ziko van Dijk wrote: >> Hello, >> Could someone explain to me why "Wikipedia" is without definite >> article? In English you say "the Britannica", so why not "the >> Wikipedia"? I am wondering that also in German Wikipedians and >> non-Wikipedians tend to drop the article, although we say "der >> Brockhaus". >> > Actually, singular proper nouns commonly do not take the definite > article in English. I would not say "the Britannica" anymore than I > would say "the Wikipedia" (or, as noted, "the Encarta"). This particular > case may indicate a difference between British and American English > here, I'm guessing from the other comments. > > There are some situations where you would use the definite article for > singular proper nouns, such as with some geographical names, or when the > name is actually a combination of common and proper nouns. Thus, I might > refer to "the Encyclopedia Britannica" because it's "the encyclopedia" > and "Britannica" identifies which encyclopedia I mean.
I agree with you, and I speak British English. I would say "the Encyclopaedia Britannica" (NB. the middle word has two a's. As suggested by the final word, it is (originally) a British thing, so takes the British spelling, which has two a's [or an "æ" if you want to be pedantic].). I would, however, say "Britannica" not "the Britannica". _______________________________________________ foundation-l mailing list foundation-l@lists.wikimedia.org Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/foundation-l
