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September 19

Consonant digraphs

How many English words are there that start with 2 consonants; the first is not S and the second is not L, R, H, or W; that don't simply make the second consonant alone pronounced?? (In most English words that meet this criterion, the second consonant alone is pronounced.) Georgia guy (talk) 14:20, 19 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Excluding proper nouns, which would give you lots of names such as McDonald (though the Mc there is an abbreviation of Mac), the only ones I can find are loan-words: fjord and (depending on pronunciation) tsar and its derivatives. AndrewWTaylor (talk) 15:13, 19 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Disregarding the pronunciation constraint I count about 1900 words (excluding proper nouns), after discarding initialisms like DNAS and things like Xmas and XLVIII, using a word list that is almost certainly not complete. But you may not want to count cnidaria and cnidarian separately. Most of the words I don't recognize; they are mostly scientific terms for things I haven't heard of and know nothing about. Since the list is for spell checking, it has no info on pronunciation, but some random checking gives very few hits where the first consonant is pronounced in a standard pronunciation (next to possibly a second standard pronunciation in which it is silent). This includes several words starting with cz, ts or tz (like czar), the word gmina, a few words starting with kv (with kvetch probably the best known), and the words tjaele and tlayuda. It is unclear how csardas should be classified, but is commonly not pronounced as if it was spelled sardas. I estimate the number of words on the list fitting the profile to be between 150 and 200. --Lambiam 19:55, 19 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Also tsunami (if you pronounce it properly). Alansplodge (talk) 20:01, 19 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Lambiam, tlayuda doesn't count because the second letter cannot be L. Georgia guy (talk) 20:02, 19 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Tchoukball.--Jayron 32 21:03, 19 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

I did not include the onset tch because this is pronounced the same as the ch in chair (/tʃ/), so you can consider the t to be silent. --Lambiam 17:19, 20 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Tmesis. --174.89.48.182 (talk) 00:15, 20 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

See Sonority Sequencing Principle. --Amble (talk) 15:54, 21 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

September 20

Battle of Bastogne

In a recent interview with The New Statesman, Chomsky said, regarding the contingency that the president refuses to leave office and gathers paramilitary forces around him, "The military has a duty in that case, the 82nd Airborne Division, to remove him by force." Over at the Humanities section I asked why specifically the 82nd Airborne Division was supposedly saddled with this task. One response supposed this was a synecdoche or similar figure of speech, like "the Battle of Bastogne". Is "the Battle of Bastogne" known for being used metonymically? And does it appear plausible that Chomsky's reference to the 82nd Airborne Division is a figure of speech? --Lambiam 19:05, 20 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

If you ask me, this is more of a reference to the 82nd Airborne Division's designation by the Department of Defense to "respond to crisis contingencies anywhere in the world within 18 hours" (as is also quoted in the lead section of our own article here on wiki). It seems to me that Chomsky is emphasizing the need to respond very quickly to the crisis that Trump refusing to leave office would bring. bibliomaniac 1 5 19:52, 20 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

This might have been a mistake on Chomsky's part. It was the 101st Airborne, not 82nd, who were of importance during Bastogne. Loafiewa (talk) 23:04, 20 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

No, that was my mistake in replying to Lambian confusing the units. I suggested that using an exemplar such as "8nd Airborne" as a stand-in for "the military" for sake of emphasis could be a figure of speech similar to synecdoche. fiveby(zero) 00:46, 21 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

BTW, a quick Google finds that Bastogne can be used as a simile for a noisy or destructive weather event: "An ice storm made our backyard sound like the battle of Bastogne" [1], "Prien Lake Park Area looks like the battle of Bastogne", [2] and "Had thunderstorms today, sounded like the Battle of Bastogne" [3]. Not sure what the British equivalent might be, but I did find one headline comparing the aftermath of a hurricane in the Bahamas to the Battle of the Somme [4] and the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests as "like the Battle of El Alemein" [5]. Alansplodge (talk) 16:40, 21 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

September 21

Branch stacking

This article refers to the Australian term for a political maneuver where a cadre attempts to force an outcome by enlisting outsiders as new members. This tactic is of course not limited to Australia, nor to politics. I'm thinking of a church congregation and attempts to oust the minister, but parallels surely abound. Is there a more general or universal term? "Rent-a-crowd" doesn't quite fit the bill. Doug butler (talk) 21:46, 21 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia calls it "Canvassing"... AnonMoos (talk) 22:40, 21 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Very similar. Thanks. Doug butler (talk) 03:58, 22 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

When Franklin D. Roosevelt didn't like the Supreme Court he had, he tried (and failed at) "court packing", i.e. increasing the number of justices. Clarityfiend (talk) 06:55, 22 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

The Canadian constitution provides for extra senators to be appointed beyond the usual number. The Mulroney government did this to pass the GST, and I believe the term "packing" was also used then. But this is not quite the same thing that Doug asked about. --174.89.48.182 (talk) 20:54, 22 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

William IV threatened to create as many new peers as necessary for the House of Lords to pass the reform act (see Reform Act 1832#Third Reform Bill)... AnonMoos (talk) 22:34, 23 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Although it's not mentioned in the article, this Australian understands that branch stacking here is a bit nastier than described above. Most of the new members signed up rarely end up attending branch meetings and actively voting on issues. Having signed up all the new members, the "stacker" obtains the right to use the votes of the new members through proxy voting forms, pushing through their own agenda with the help of people who have no idea what's really going on. I would be surprised if this was a purely Australian phenomenon. HiLo48 (talk) 23:49, 22 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

September 22

terminology in split ergativity

With split ergativity, such that an intransitive subject declines like an agent for verbs like walk but like a patient for verbs like fall, what are the cases called? Nominative and absolutive? Ergative and accusative? Something else? --Tamfang (talk) 02:02, 22 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

The sketch of Kashmiri in "The Concise Compendium of the World's Major Languages" says that Kashmiri has Nominative, Oblique I, Oblique II, and Agentive cases, with a note "Oblique I provides the direct object ; oblique II and the agentive are used as subject of transitive verb" (not further explained). According to our Kashmiri language article, it has Nominative, Dative, Ergative, and Ablative cases (and Vocative, unlikely to be relevant here). AnonMoos (talk) 04:27, 22 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Actually, that's split intransitive alignment. In that page, the case forms are called "agentive" vs. "patientive". The WALS has "active" vs. "inactive" case. –Austronesier (talk) 15:56, 22 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Living outside

I often come across phrases in Wikipedia like "She lives outside Sebastopol, California" in response to which I think "Yes, like a few billion of us". Is this just because I am used to British English? Wouldn't "She lives near Sebastopol, California" better indicate the intended meaning? Or is "outside" okay from an American English point of view?--Shantavira|^{feed me} 08:26, 22 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Since you clearly understand the intended meaning, what's the problem? Henry ^Flower 09:28, 22 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Maybe it comes from the slightly longer 'just outside'. Cambridge Dictionary's "English Grammar Today" column on "outside" writes:

"We use outside or outside of as a preposition to mean ‘not in a particular place, but near it’:

There’s a chair just outside the room opposite.

She works in a software development company just outside of Dublin."

---Sluzzelin talk 09:43, 22 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

In my experience in American English, "outside Town X" means "her house is not within any municipality's jurisdiction but Town X is closest", while "near Town X" would mean "she actually lives in Town Y, but there's no way you've heard of that place so here's a bigger town to give you a general idea". --Khajidha (talk) 10:45, 22 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

It's used in that way in British English too. See [6] (Preposition 1): "Vincennes is just outside Paris". Bazza (talk) 14:34, 22 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Your example is not quite the same, as near as I can tell. I live in the town of Long View, North Carolina. I would describe myself as living near the city of Hickory, North Carolina, but NOT "outside Hickory" because I am within the town limits of Long View. I would only use "outside Hickory" if I lived in the unincorporated part of the county. "Vincennes is outside Paris" is about the location of two municipalities relative to each other. The example here is about a residence in an unspecified place relative to a municipality. --Khajidha (talk) 15:15, 22 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

It depends though. In American English, "Outside" can also be used for "I live in a place you've never heard of, so here's a place you have nearby". For example, if someone asks where you live, one might start with "I live in Long View" and when you get a blank stare or a question like "Where's that?", you might conceivably reply "It's outside Hickory", with the meaning "It's a small place you've never heard of but which is near Hickory". (of course, that presumes someone's heard of Hickory.) The meaning of "outside" a place meaning "near" a place in any and all contexts is well-established in English, and native speakers don't often get confused, except when they want to be smartasses "Everywhere is outside Hickory, hahahahah". --Jayron 32 15:45, 22 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

(edit conflict) If I lived in Vincennes, then I would say that I lived just outside Paris. Similarly, if I lived on the outskirts or beyond of Vincennes, I might say I lived just outside it. (As it happens, I live just outside London ("just" being 35km), although I might also say I live outside London which could mean a wider area; the word "just" seems key there, as pointed out earlier by Sluzzelin.) Your interesting reply highlights that there's other technicalities at play here too, not least the strange (to this British person, at least) concepts of incorporation, US counties, cities and their limits and boundaries: are these important considerations in this sort of discussion there? Bazza (talk) 17:29, 22 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

To me, if I am in a town, I no longer think of myself as being "outside" another one. I think of cities/towns/villages as being near each other, not "outside". --Khajidha (talk) 18:08, 22 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

I guess the word 'just' makes the meaning unambiguous, while writing 'outside City X' can mean something else in certain contexts, as pointed out by Shantavira. Example: "If it is difficult for the disabled to get along roads because people park on pavements inside London, why should it not be difficult for people outside London?"[7] (The Chairman of the Transport Select Committee meant the rest of the country here, on 14 December 2005). ---Sluzzelin talk 18:31, 22 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Productive letter groups

This may have been asked before, but I wouldn't know how to search for it.

There are certain words that can have their first letter replaced with another and still make a valid word. Examples:

lign - sign
cry - fry - pry - try
ball - call - fall - gall - hall - mall - pall - tall - wall.
bight - eight - fight - light - might - night - right - sight - tight - wight.

I call "-ign", "-ry", "-all" and "-ight" productive letter groups, with values 2, 4, 9 and 10 respectively (or greater if I've missed any candidates).

I seek the letter group that has the greatest productivity. Or the set of equally greatest. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 22:02, 22 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

PS. I stress I'm interested only in replacement of one letter with another. Bright and fright would not fit into the "-ight" group, but they would belong to the "-right" group. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 22:24, 22 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Hey JackofOz, I have no idea how to systematically search for it either (a reverse dictionary?) but Scrabble and crossword tools such as [8] may help you root around for this because they usefully group by number of letters. For your ight set, for example, the tool finds 149 words but you only have to look at the five-letter words to fit your single-letter criterion. It suggests 12. [9]. One larger set I found right away: you get 16 three-letter words ending in “in”. 70.67.193.176 (talk) 22:32, 22 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

I'd say -ot would be hard to beat, but not very interesting, the best fit per word length would be more useful. If no-one has a better solution I'll crank up my old XP machine and do a BASIC search.

PS. Why were your PS and 70.67.193.176 's reply not visible on my screen? Now they are. Doug butler (talk) 22:58, 22 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

On the UNIX machine where I'm typing this,

grep '^[a-z]*$' /usr/share/dict/words | # no capitalized or hyphenated words
   grep ... | # no 1-2 letter words
   sed s/./-/ | # eliminate 1st letter
   sort | uniq -c | sort -k 1nr  | # tabulate repetitions
   awk '$1 > 15' | # sufficiently good results only 
   while read count ending  # prepare to format them helpfully
   do
      pat=`echo " $ending" | sed 's/ -/^[a-z]/; s/$/$/'` # construct pattern to find hits on a specific ending
      echo "$count $ending:  " `grep "$pat" /usr/share/dict/words` # list them
   done

produces:

 19 -at:   bat cat eat fat gat hat kat lat mat nat oat pat rat sat tat vat wat yat zat
 18 -an:   ban can dan ean fan gan han kan lan man nan pan ran san tan van wan yan
 17 -ar:   bar car dar ear far gar jar lar mar nar oar par sar tar war yar zar
 16 -ag:   bag cag dag fag gag hag jag lag mag nag rag sag tag vag wag zag
 16 -ain:   bain cain dain fain gain hain lain main nain pain rain sain tain vain wain zain
 16 -am:   aam bam cam dam fam gam ham jam lam nam oam pam ram sam tam yam
 16 -ay:   bay cay day fay gay hay jay kay lay may nay pay ray say tay way
 16 -ot:   bot cot dot fot got hot jot lot mot not pot rot sot tot wot yot
 16 -ow:   bow cow dow fow how jow low mow now pow row sow tow vow wow yow

There are two problems with using this /usr/share/dict/words file. First, on this machine it is a massive word list containing numerous words that most people would not recognize, supposed to have been tabulated from an unabridged dictionary decades ago — for example, kat, aam, gan, etc. etc. And second, the list does not include inflected forms, so if (for example) pluralized words would change the best results, it will not show that.

Still, this is a sort of answer. --174.89.48.182 (talk) 00:07, 23 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Using that script on Collins Scrabble Words CSW15, which includes many inflected forms, gives

19 -ill:   bill cill dill fill gill hill jill kill lill mill nill pill rill sill till vill will yill zill
19 -ills:   bills cills dills fills gills hills jills kills lills mills nills pills rills sills tills vills wills yills zills
18 -as:   aas bas das eas fas gas has kas las mas nas pas ras tas vas was yas zas
18 -at:   bat cat eat fat gat hat kat lat mat nat oat pat qat rat sat tat vat wat
18 -in:   ain bin din fin gin hin jin kin lin pin qin rin sin tin vin win yin zin
18 -ins:   ains bins dins fins gins hins jins kins lins pins qins rins sins tins vins wins yins zins
18 -is:   ais bis cis dis gis his kis lis mis nis ois pis qis sis tis vis wis xis
17 -ag:   bag cag dag fag gag hag jag lag mag nag rag sag tag vag wag yag zag
17 -ags:   bags cags dags fags gags hags jags lags mags nags rags sags tags vags wags yags zags
17 -ang:   bang cang dang fang gang hang kang lang mang nang pang rang sang tang vang wang yang
17 -ap:   bap cap dap fap gap hap jap lap map nap pap rap sap tap wap yap zap
17 -ats:   bats cats eats fats gats hats kats lats mats nats oats pats qats rats tats vats wats
17 -aw:   caw daw faw gaw haw jaw kaw law maw naw paw raw saw taw vaw waw yaw
17 -ay:   bay cay day fay gay hay jay kay lay may nay pay ray say tay way yay
17 -ays:   bays cays days fays gays hays jays kays lays mays nays pays rays says tays ways yays
17 -ine:   aine bine cine dine eine fine kine line mine nine pine rine sine tine vine wine zine
16 -aps:   baps caps daps gaps haps japs laps maps naps paps raps saps taps waps yaps zaps
16 -aws:   caws daws faws gaws haws jaws kaws laws maws paws raws saws taws vaws waws yaws
16 -ee:   bee cee dee fee gee jee lee mee nee pee ree see tee vee wee zee
16 -et:   bet fet get het jet ket let met net pet ret set tet vet wet yet
16 -it:   ait bit cit dit fit git hit kit lit nit pit rit sit tit wit zit
16 -its:   aits bits cits dits fits gits hits kits lits nits pits rits sits tits wits zits
16 -on:   bon con don eon fon gon hon ion kon mon non oon son ton won yon
16 -ow:   bow cow dow how jow kow low mow now pow row sow tow vow wow yow
16 -ows:   bows cows dows hows jows kows lows mows nows pows rows sows tows vows wows yows

~~There's a more recent CSW19, but I don't have immediate access to that.~~ The more recent CSW19 gives the same result. Bazza (talk) 10:40, 23 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

The ending -yatt is remarkably productive for names: Byatt; Gyatt; Hyatt; Myatt; Pyatt; Wyatt. --Lambiam 12:15, 23 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

The answer you're looking for may be ILL with 19 words (bill, cill, dill, fill, gill, hill, jill, kill, lill, mill, nill, pill, rill, sill, till, vill, will, yill, zill). Otherwise here's a list of stumps from an obsolete Scrabble dictionary. I've omitted plurals and listed by word length:

4: -ILL (19); -ANG, -INE (16); -ARE, -ENT, -EST, -ITE, -ORE (15)

5: -IGHT (14); -OWED (13); -AKER, -ARED (12); -ATER, -AWED -ERRY, -IVER (11)

6: (uninflected) -INGLE (10), -ALLET, -ANGLE, -IDDLE, ILLET, -UDDLE (8)

6: (else) ED, ER, ING): -APPED (15), -AGGED (14), -ASHED, -ILLED (13); -ARING, -ASTER, -ATTER, -AWING, -IPPED, -OCKED, -OWING (12) Doug butler (talk) 17:11, 23 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

You've all exceeded my expectations. Thanks very much indeed. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 22:35, 23 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Resolved

September 23

What exactly does "anointment" mean, in the context of US politics?

I quite often see people describe a politician that has been chosen to lead a party or to run for president as having been "anointed". Now, I'm pretty sure they aren't literally pouring oil over them in a religious ritual, so what exactly does this mean in this context? (As far as I can tell, it generally seems to be a pejorative. I would also say it seems to be more used by Republicans to describe Democrats, although here is an example of Sanders using it in reference to Clinton, so that may just be selection bias). Iapetus (talk) 15:07, 23 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Anointing (in the sense of your link) was/is an important component of most Coronation ceremonies in what used to be Christendom and its cultural heirs: it symbolises the Church's official confirmation of God's endorsement of the coronatee (if that's a word). Consequently, it has become a metaphor for the official and/or widespread acceptance of a political candidacy, or even of the planned successor to a non-political position such as CEO of a company.

Use of the term in a non-regal context implies a degree of detachment from the possibly over-enthusiastic or less-than-open process that produced the endorsement. Such use is not confined to the US (opines this Brit, who has encountered it locally). {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 2.218.14.46 (talk) 16:39, 23 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Webster says "to choose by or as if by divine election" and "to officially or formally choose (someone) to do or to be something".[10] Bus stop (talk) 16:57, 23 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Anoint is often used 1) when the selection is made by a single person whose choice is not to be gainsaid or 2) when the choice is made with the understanding that the group making the choice is planning on presenting a united support of the person. The first would be like a billionaire choosing the person who will take over his company after his death while the second would be like a political party choosing a candidate.--Khajidha (talk) 17:57, 23 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Wardog -- I believe that the word "anoint" is used most often in U.S. politics as a passive participle, in such phrases as "anointed heir", "anointed successor", etc. The use of the particular word "anointment" (with archaic and royal connotations) by Bernie Sanders was extremely sarcastic, and I doubt whether that form is very commonly used... AnonMoos (talk) 22:19, 23 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Note that "Messiah" and "Christ" both mean "the anointed".[11][12] Calling a mortal being "anointed" often carries a degree of sarcasm. <-Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots-> 22:38, 23 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

In the text of the Hebrew Bible, the word "mashiaH" (the source of "messiah") refers to anointed kings and priests (implying anointed with God's approval), but it does not refer to any kind of world-savior or prophesied apocalyptic savior... AnonMoos (talk) 23:08, 23 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Not in the Bible itself, but it definitely has that meaning in Judaism, specifically in Jewish eschatology. --Lambiam 10:30, 24 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

The Biblical text is 1 Kings 1:38, "Zadok the Priest, and Nathan the Prophet anointed Solomon King", See Zadok the Priest. 176.227.136.190 (talk) 15:56, 24 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

I'm curious about a Chinese (most probably) writing

I have a ceramic pot with the following writing on it. I uploaded it to https://ibb.co/ZLntY5S.

Can someone confirm it's Chinese and maybe add some links to its type/style of writing?

Would someone be so kind and either describe the writing or write it down in current Chinese characters? Regards. --Bumptump (talk) 22:44, 23 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Looks like some kind of "grass writing", which can take specialized knowledge to decipher... AnonMoos (talk) 22:58, 23 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

It's clear from my perfunctory experiments that available OCRs won't produce anything of value, but do you mean that even a proficient Chinese speaker might not be able to read it? --Bumptump (talk) 23:34, 23 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, grass script is highly stylized and even a native speaker would have a tough time interpreting things. I can make out a couple characters but I'm not quite sure what it says, because the words don't make sense in conjunction with one another. The middle is unambiguously 石棕科, "stone palm family," but that makes little sense. I searched a couple of Chinese poetry sites for different characters but nothing showed up. It would be helpful to know where you got it from; if it's not made in Asia it could very well be a pastiche of random characters just slapped together for aesthetic effect. I also suspect it might be in simplified Chinese (I think I see 时, 构, and 系, which are all simplified), which I feel bolsters the nonsense character theory. I note that about a year ago on Reddit, someone posted about a teacup with the exact same inscription, though the poster mistakenly thought it was Mongolian. The comments there failed to discern anything either. bibliomaniac 1 5 19:46, 24 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Japanese calligraphy is very similar to Chinese calligraphy, as can be seen here. An expert (which I am not) may be able to tell the two apart. The style of the vase itself may be more telling about its provenance. --Lambiam 10:24, 24 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

September 24

The in front of abbreviations

I heard you can ask language questions here. Should you write "SPLC is an organization that opposes bigotry" or "The SPLC is an organization that opposes bigotry"? TIA ImTheIP (talk) 08:43, 24 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

I think it depends. It's usually used with "The BBC", never with "NATO". AnonMoos (talk) 09:08, 24 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Because NATO is an acronym? ImTheIP (talk) 09:12, 24 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

I don't think it's that simple: ~~CNN~~ ABC for example. Bazza (talk) 09:26, 24 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

In Australia, we do say The ABC when you are referring to their TV channel. --TrogWoolley (talk) 11:04, 24 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

ImTheIP -- BBC and NATO are both acronyms, both commonly preceded by "the" in their full form when used in a sentence ("the British Broadcasting Corporation", "the North Atlantic Treaty organization"). AnonMoos (talk) 10:21, 24 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Yes they are, and we do indeed refer to "the BBC"; but not to "the NATO". How to tell whether to include the "the" seems to be the original question. Bazza (talk) 10:54, 24 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

NATO is normally pronounced like a word ("Nayto"), whereas BBC is pronounced with each letter individually. Could that be relevant?

There is no general rule or convention. The best may be to follow the usage of the organization itself: "The SPLC is a catalyst for racial justice ...",^[13] "The SPLC stands up for ...",^[14] "Each year since 1990, the SPLC has published ...".^[15] However, they themselves are not 100% consistent: "SPLC is a nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization".^[16] --Lambiam 09:53, 24 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, or the style guide of the national press association in your country. If the US, I think there are two, but just checking what the Associated Press does, it seems they include "the" nearly 4/5 of the time for this particular organization, based on ghits. 70.67.193.176 (talk) 16:28, 24 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

It might not be best to follow the usage of the organization itself. For example I understand that the CIA is sometimes called just CIA by insiders, but omission of the definite article seems aggrandizing and inappropriate to this outsider. Temerarius (talk) 20:34, 24 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

CIA insiders supposedly call it "the Company" more often than anything else... AnonMoos (talk) 21:23, 24 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

French names for countries seem to be a similarly mixed bag. Some have the definite article in front (Le, La, Les, L'), but many don't. I think one just has to memorise them. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 00:48, 25 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

This is a feature of languages generally, thus "the Netherlands", "the Ukraine", etc. 92.7.217.34 (talk) 10:58, 25 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Current labels for or types of capitalism

I'm interested in a list of terms describing current forms/types of capitalism. 'Digital capitalism' is one. 'Neoliberal capitalism' another. There are many of these labels, often critical, floating around but I struggle to remember them and they are a little challenging to google up. Can people suggest current descriptions of capitalism that illustrate or explain the many critiques currently available and relevant? Thanks if you can help. -- Preceding unsigned comment added by 2A02:A447:A6CD:1:680C:EC0A:99F2:8557 (talk) 12:30, 24 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Shareholder value capitalism -- originally used with positive connotations, but today usually negatively... AnonMoos (talk) 13:10, 24 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

We also have articles on Eco-capitalism, Corporate capitalism, Democratic capitalism, State capitalism, Authoritarian capitalism, Anarcho-capitalism, Social capitalism, Welfare capitalism, Consumer capitalism, Caravan capitalism, Regulatory capitalism, Surveillance capitalism, Rentier capitalism, Black capitalism, Collective capitalism, Crony capitalism, Finance capitalism, Gentlemanly capitalism, Humanistic capitalism, Heroic capitalism, Inclusive capitalism, Penny capitalism, Pink capitalism, Sustainable capitalism. For criticism, I'd start with Criticism of capitalism and the category Category:Criticism of capitalism. ---Sluzzelin talk

September 25

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 * French names for countries seem to be a similarly mixed bag. Some have the definite article in front (Le, La, Les, L'), but many don't. I think one just has to memorise them. --  [[User:JackofOz|<span style="font-family: Papyrus;">Jack of Oz</span>]] [[User talk:JackofOz#top|<span style="font-size:85%; font-family: Verdana;"><sup>[pleasantries]</sup></span>]] 00:48, 25 September 2020 (UTC)
+::This is a feature of languages generally, thus "the Netherlands", "the Ukraine", etc. [[Special:Contributions/92.7.217.34|92.7.217.34]] ([[User talk:92.7.217.34|talk]]) 10:58, 25 September 2020 (UTC)
 == Current labels for or types of capitalism ==