"Ukraine" or "The Ukraine" ?

[Stinky The Clown]

My understanding (and that is all it is - my understanding) is it was "The Ukraine" when part of the Soviet Union and later Russia, but as a sovereign nation, it is more properly "Ukraine".

Does anyone now what is correct and if there is a back stotray as I outlined my own understanding?

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

1. Ukraine

I used to call it the Ukraine too.

[TygrBright]

2. "Ukraine" is correct.

And your notion about why is also correct:

https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/10/05/ukraine-name-insult-war-russia-geography/

helpfully,
Bright

[Stinky The Clown]

6. Thanks!

[treestar]

9. Interesting

But then isn't it still "borderland" and how is that different from "the borderland."

[Wounded Bear]

15. As explained in the linked article, adding "the" is more a regional inference than national...nt

[mia]

3. Ukraine.

A student from there who lived at my house for an English homestay program told me this. I don't remember the back story.

[jcgoldie]

4. Ukraine is correct

The name originates with the Slavic word for "borderland"... adding the "the" basically defines the country in terms of Russia.

[mia]

5. Thank you.

That explains it all.

[roamer65]

7. Ukrainian SSR under the Soviet Union.

Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.

[sinkingfeeling]

8. Ukraine.

[malaise]

10. I was corrected last night for using

The Ukraine

[dalton99a]

11. Ukraine or the Ukraine: Why do some country names have 'the'?

https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-18233844
Ukraine or the Ukraine: Why do some country names have 'the'?
By Tom Geoghegan
7 June 2012

There are many other country names that are habitually referred to with "the", such as Congo, Gambia, Yemen, Lebanon, Sudan, Netherlands, Philippines and Bahamas.

But according to several authoritative sources, such as the CIA World Factbook, the Times Comprehensive Atlas of the World and the US Department of State, only two countries, The Bahamas and The Gambia, should officially be referred to with the article.

The two Congos are officially Democratic Republic of the Congo and Republic of the Congo. And the longer, official name for Netherlands is Kingdom of the Netherlands.

"Groups of islands like the Maldives and the Bahamas. You wouldn't say 'I'm going to Maldives, you'd say 'I'm going to the Maldives' because it's a geographical area."

Countries like the United States of America and the United Kingdom also carry the definite article because they are compound nouns with adjectives.

[Polybius]

21. Why does The Bronx?

We don't say the Manhattan.

[electric_blue68]

23. Idk! And I now live in The Bronx....

also.lived in Brooklyn, and Manhattan. 😁

[bif]

12. When I visited Ukraine a few years ago

They straightened me out. It's Ukraine. Trust me!

[electric_blue68]

24. 😄 I'll bet!

[greenjar_01]

13. For a fun time, ask a Ukrainian this question

Or just call the country "The Ukraine" in front of a Ukrainian.

You'll learn.

Notably, Seinfeld got this right. In one episode, Kramer and Newman are playing Risk, and referring to "The Ukraine." But they run into an actual Ukrainian on the subway, and he refers to it as "Ukraine," no the. Maybe they had a Ukrainian on staff.

[Crunchy Frog]

19. Slavic languages don't use definite or indefinite articles.

That's why native Slavic speakers tend to drop "the" and "a" from their speech. I'd guess that Seinfeld was simply going by that convention.

[kskiska]

20. That's how Melanoma

came up with "Be Best."

[MineralMan]

14. Neither the Russian nor Ukrainian languages use articles like the, a, or an.

So, no "The." It is simply Ukraine.

[BlackSkimmer]

16. Ukraine.

It really surprises me that so many on this forum who pride themselves on their knowledge of so many topics do not know this.

Especially some who apparently spend their days in front of a television. How can you miss it?

[Polybius]

22. Probably because it's sometimes referred to that even by professionals

I heard someone on the news call it "The Ukraine" the other day.

[prodigitalson]

17. Don't the British say The Lebanon? nt

[Shellback Squid]

18. Ukraine