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Most countries do not use the definitive article, which is at variance with the English language. However, there are still a few who do.

It is regularly used with an assortment on country names which are derived from the names of various groups, such as the Philippines, from various mountain ranges, such as the Lebanon, from various deserts, such as the Sudan, and various other geographical locations, such as the Netherlands.

However, use in this way has been steadily on the decline although, in a few countries, it is still in widespread use.

Since the Independence of the Ukraine, most style guides have advised no longer adopting the definite article the possibly, in part, since the Ukrainian government was concerned about a similar issue concerning prepositions, since there has been a change in the usage of the preposition na in favour of v.

The US Department of State and the CIA World Factbook both show the definitive article the as still being adopted by two countries, viz The Bahamas and The Gambia.

The dictionary refers to the definite article the as being pronounced with a flat vowel sound, such as in uh, before words that begin with consonants, such as b, c, d, and f, whereas a long vowel sound, such as in tree, is used in front of words beginning with vowels, such as a, e, i, o, and u, with the exception of proper nouns or in emphasis.

A recent trend has been observed, particularly in the broadcast media, in which reporters use only the flat vowel sounds, suggesting that the long vowel sound in pronunciation may well be phased out of the working language in the future.


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