I have been corrected by the estimable SJ Klein for referring to Wikipedia as “the Wikipedia.” I stand corrected and will attempt to avoid mistake next time. I hope I have not caused Wikipedia any the distress.
I see now the insidious menace presented by your 11-word comment, backed by 11+ years of editorial expertise, to the cause of the righteous grammarian; and object to both the position you take on the theoretical grammatical nu[is]ance at hand and the interpretation you offer of the Wikipedia self-image.
“The English Wikipedia” may be the preferred colloquial usage, and “the wiki ‘pedia” may amuse the mind and roll off of the tongue, but “the Wikipedia” is rarely correct in any sentence, and never when referring to the Wikipedia project as a whole, with the proper noun as the object of the article.
The FAQ answer you linked to above has hardly been copyedited since the silver-tongued Stephen Gilbert placed it into the Wikipedia Overview FAQ v.1 in 2002, at which time the Wikipedia community had yet to rule out the idea of being “the” wiki encyclopedia, justifying the name rather than claiming it.
The truth is, other wiki ‘pedias may appear; since the original question was posed, the community has reached consensus, in the minds of the Wikipedia phalanges and in the Wikipedia articles you read today, on the article-free name.
The circle of articulate digerati who have recently preferred the “the Wikipedia” to the “Wikipedia” option, however, highlight the urgency of the struggle for nomenclatural justice.
I have updated the Wikipedia FAQ to clarify and rectify the reality of the matter, and trust that the “the” the Wikipedia-loving fans of the aforementioned circle have grown accustomed to, will in the near future fade into the recesses of the past.
What began as a friendly correction to a few friends — blogged by JOHO to his world-renowned water cooler — has turned into a battle for the very soul of the articleless pastiche.
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Actually, as Wikipedia itself says, “the Wikipedia” is correct as well.
Wimp.
Dear JD,
I see now the insidious menace presented by your 11-word comment, backed by 11+ years of editorial expertise, to the cause of the righteous grammarian; and object to both the position you take on the theoretical grammatical nu[is]ance at hand and the interpretation you offer of the Wikipedia self-image.
“The English Wikipedia” may be the preferred colloquial usage, and “the wiki ‘pedia” may amuse the mind and roll off of the tongue, but “the Wikipedia” is rarely correct in any sentence, and never when referring to the Wikipedia project as a whole, with the proper noun as the object of the article.
The FAQ answer you linked to above has hardly been copyedited since the silver-tongued Stephen Gilbert placed it into the Wikipedia Overview FAQ v.1 in 2002, at which time the Wikipedia community had yet to rule out the idea of being “the” wiki encyclopedia, justifying the name rather than claiming it.
The truth is, other wiki ‘pedias may appear; since the original question was posed, the community has reached consensus, in the minds of the Wikipedia phalanges and in the Wikipedia articles you read today, on the article-free name.
The circle of articulate digerati who have recently preferred the “the Wikipedia” to the “Wikipedia” option, however, highlight the urgency of the struggle for nomenclatural justice.
I have updated the Wikipedia FAQ to clarify and rectify the reality of the matter, and trust that the “the” the Wikipedia-loving fans of the aforementioned circle have grown accustomed to, will in the near future fade into the recesses of the past.
Wikipedia’s article
What began as a friendly correction to a few friends — blogged by JOHO to his world-renowned water cooler — has turned into a battle for the very soul of the articleless pastiche.