The Database, or The List.

It's kangaroo all over again. :Lol

"Republican" doesn't actually mean to "publican" again; the way "renew" means to "new" again. _ Sear
Correct, and as you so well give example, the word is not Re-Publican, but Republic-an

Meaning one who lives in a Republic, or in this day and age, would like to think they do. Usually also the first ones to 'promote democracy in your area' when it means you don't get to vote, but they do.
b) In English we refer to "the Ayatollah". This because as you know, Ayatollah is a title, not a name.- Sear
And there is Mini, Max and Grand poo-baa's of those hats. That of course is our bad we do not learn the names of the people who call themselves our enemies, that is, we have no one but ourselves to blame for that lack of info. Which is of course why "Al  Qaeda", "El Kida, and dozens of other 'names' suddenly became scary to people.
I've heard irritable Arabs say such things as "death to the Bush", meaning wishing a premature demise to our U.S. president. It seems they do this because they assume "Bush" is a title, and not a name. Or, they simply follow the convention of their culture; not having learned English sufficiently.
No insult intended. I'm sure they speak English better than I speak Arabic. - Sear.
It seems they do this because they assume "Bush" is a title, and not a name.

Perhaps not also, There is a custom in many cultures, the Irish come to mind when they call a person "The 'Name' ". How many times have the media to referred to Mr. Trump as "The Donald" and we all know who they are talking about.

"The Madonna" is more commonly understand as 'the christian idol of Mary"

So the history of referring to some one with a "single" name preceded by definitive article is very common. Simply look to latin and you'll find plenty of examples. "Oh's and Ah's" abound, when teaching the female of the species "AH" the wiles of the diction 'OH'.

So it's not uncommon for them to refer to some as 'the name'.  It's also pretty common that though they speak English passing or well, they just don't speak it that well. Grammatical errors abound. I always learn how to say 'Thank you' and 'Please' and "Excuse me" when in foreign countries. Amazing the stuff you learn. I could just about read french signs to tell me what a building or facility was for, and how to get around town.

You learn a lot of 'language skills' when abroad. It could even be they are pissed off enough, they can't conjugate it so they expectorate it. smiley: happy

That and listening to a lot of the Arabic's, Fijian, Afghans, Persians (Iraq and Iran still have a lot of dark haired, kohl eyed sweeties), and Pakistani's, Indian's, you name it, I think we have one, you really catch on the fact that A) They really don't have lot in common, and b) some of their ideals are built into their word phrases.

In the movies with Aishwarya Rai - "The Mistress of Spices" and "Bride and Prejudice" she uses a phrase that I have heard since from other who are Indian, regardless of where they grew up  "Unless and Until".

It's all very well to run around saying regulation is bad, get the government off our backs, etc. Of course our lives are regulated. When you come to a stop sign, you stop; if you want to go fishing, you get a license; if you want to shoot ducks, you can shoot only three ducks. The alternative is dead bodies at the intersection, no fish, and no ducks. OK?
Molly Ivins -1944 - 2007

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