The country of Ukraine is simply that; Ukraine. According to all the maps I've ever seen, it is labeled simply "Ukraine." So why is it that I FREQUENTLY hear so many people reference it as "the Ukraine?
We don't say "The Russia" nor do we say "The France"....why do I hear professional announcers and news anchors refer to the country as "The Ukraine"?
Example, I continually hear announcers or news-anchors say, "so-and-so (Ukrainian) athlete is from "THE UKRAINE"; but that same announcer, when referring to a Russian athlete, will say "that athlete is from Russia."
Why the added "THE" for Ukraine? Is it simple ignorance? News media people are EDUCATE PROFESSIONALS....surely they CAN'T be ignorant of a country's name or reference?
My initial theory WAS that because Ukraine begins with the letter "U" as in "THE United States" or "THE U.S.S.R."; that it may have been a force of habit....but then, I don't hear references to people from Uganda as being from "THE UGANDA"?? (Of course, unless Uganda was being used as an adjective, as in "the Uganda province")
Is it grammatically correct to refer to Ukraine as "THE UKRAINE"? If so, can someone please explain this logic?
It's obviously NOT a "life-threatening" issue; just annoying to me and I'm interested in some CONSTRUCTIVE feedback! Thx!
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