On 28 Nov 2008, at 18:12, Ray Saintonge wrote:
I don't understand. "Georgia (country)" and "Georgia (state)" would both = Sakartvelo and both contrast with "Georgia (U.S. State)". And the U.S. States are sovereign in a sense (California is more sovereign than County Mayo in Ireland is), though they also are part of a federal structure which is the top-level subdivision in terms of UN recognition.
[[Georgia (state)]] is currently a disambiguation page.
I ought to have looked first. *blushes* Of course in the context of Georgia, "Georgia (state)" is indeed ambiguous.
California does indeed have greater autonomy than County Mayo; perhaps even Orange County, has more autonomy. I understand that "state" is a technically correct term for an independent country, but in English speaking countries like the United *States* or Australia the more popular notion of political subdivision would tend to prevail.
Well, in English-speaking countries like Ireland, Canada, or the United Kingdom the proper term is "state". The United Kingdom is a State. Scotland. England, Wales and Northernn Ireland are constituent "countries" within the UK. (See the article on the UK: "The United Kingdom is a unitary state consisting of four countries: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.[18]".)
Would [[Ireland (Republic)]] be sufficient to emphasize that the term "republic" is merely descriptive.
I don't believe it would be preferable. to changee [[Republic of Ireland]] to [[Ireland (republic)]] or to [[Ireland (Republic)]] -- I think you'd get push-back on that. I could ask, but just at the moment that might be poking the hornet's nest.
Whether it's "(Republic)" or "(republic)" should not be a big issue.
The point I was trying to make would be that "Ireland (state)" is more likely to be a winning compromise.
Michael Everson * http://www.evertype.com