[WikiEN-l] [Foundation-l] Trouble in Ireland

[Ray Saintonge]

Michael Everson wrote:
> On 28 Nov 2008, at 00:27, Ray Saintonge wrote:
>   
>> That's because the nationals of a few small countries perceive a  
>> "state" to be a political subdivision.
>>     
> 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. 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.
>> 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.

Ec