On 28 Nov 2008, at 12:45, Andrew Gray wrote:
2008/11/28 Michael Everson everson@evertype.com:
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.
Leaving aside the political overtones..
They're not mine. I'm describing what you'd probably get if you asked for this.
If you're going to do bracketed disambiguation then either (country) or (state) is preferable, since you're disambiguating versus the island - we always use the most general term possible,
"Country" can be broader than "State" in this context; some people have already pointed this out during the discussion. "Ireland's my country" can apply to people in N. Ireland (as they see it) though "Ireland's the State I live in" would not.
and (republic) is a bit precise. Using (republic) would suggest that the other cases were defined by being something other than a republic, which is a bit of a category error...
State is more accurate and precise. The constitution defines it as State. The Republic of Ireland Act 1948 specifies the use of the term "Republic of Ireland" as a "description" of the State.
"Ireland (state)" can only mean one thing.
I'm just saying that "(state)" is more likely to be accepted than "(country)".
Michael Everson * http://www.evertype.com