The Dominican??

Guilty!

But are you also offended by us calling the United States the "US" or "the States?" You are the first person I ever heard of that was offended by the term 'the Dominican'. Each to his own, but I don't see the big deal.

AtlantaBob said:

This may be trivial to some , but it bothers me when gringos refer to the Dominican Republic as "the Dominican". Isn't that like calling the the US, "the United". It's an adjective and it must modify something. It just doesn't sound right.

I have noticed this done by certain ladies on the board (that are married to dominicans). Shame on you. Next time I'll have to slap your wrist...or better yet, a spanking!

Just a thought,
ex-teacher Bob

Click to expand...

Sounds to me like you're picking fly dirt out of pepper . Maybe you can take the teacher out of the classroom but not the classroom out of the teacher? In short, who cares as long as tourists come? Sort of like you can call me this or call me that but please don't call me late for dinner.

What about

Canadian, I would assume that this is a noun and not an adjective, so why wouldnt Dominican be considered a noun.
Guess my take on the Queen's language might be incorrect, but no big deal

Minor issues

Actually, I am in agreement with you AtlantaBob. It does seem to be a lazy way of referring to the Dominican Republic. Canadian or Dominican is a noun when referring to an individual of that particular nationality (c.f., he is a Dominican, she is a Canadian). But, to be truly correct you would not refer to the country as the Canadian or the Dominican but as Canada or the Dominican Republic. On the other hand, as an anthropologist I know that language evolves constantly and we can't get up in arms about changes that are distasteful to us individually. If it is any consolation, I rarely hear any Dominicans refer to their country as the Rep?blica Dominicana, rather it seems that Santo Domingo is used more often to talk about the whole country by its citizens. We teachers can "lead the horse to water, but can't make it drink." Howling at the moon will only make one hoarse (ronco).

Bob, you would have HATED me and my friends, who used to (when we were young and silly) refer to the DR as, simply, the Domin. Much worse!

While I am usually incredibly petty about things like this (especially grammar), to my ear, saying "the Dominican" instead of "the Dominican Republic" or "the D.R." is not as highly offensive.

In any case, I usually say "the D.R.".

"The Dominican"

Here is my suggestion. I say CBS or ABC do a new show called

"The Dominican" a hot, eligible batchlor, TW or AZBish. Us women will be vying for their attention and in the end only one lucky lady wins.

Yes, most Dominicans would be greatly offended if polled. It is an affront to the dignity of the nation. It seems to diminish the value of the country. It relegates it to a secondary position and ascirbes to it a diminutive stature. Since Dominicans are an extremely proud group which is susceptible to criticism they wouldn't take this word lightly. Of course I am the exception and find it quite humorous.

Hehehehehe

Most Americans I know refer to DR as DomRep, I understand Dominican Republic is too long both to write and pronounce, and being Dominican, I agree that the name is not good for tourism, it's too political, like the Russian Republic, the Republic of China, etc. I vote for a change of name:

choices in order of importance:

Quisqueya
Santo Domingo
Hispaniola
DomRep

And my dopey Dominican Friends says...

Santo Domingo to mean Dominican Republic and we constantly get into arguments (me specifically) especially while talking about the north coast.

The big dope...

Or more realistically, Theresa...
You take a sanky. Get all his girlfriends together from all different countries. It is then that they all find out about each other...they battle it out, the winner (probably the first to obtain a Visa for him) then gets to support him for the rest of his life.

I also agree with AtlantaBob. I also find it very annoying when gringos refer to it as the "Dominican" or even worse "Dominica". I don't say anything, but I'm always thinking "What an ignorant piece of ....". On the other hand I do agree that the name is too long. The name should really be Quisqueya.

I know, Atlanta Bos, I agree. I mean it doesn't totally drive me crazy, but it is a little annoying.

Have to disagree Bob, I have always heard my friends, Dominican and American refer to the "Dominican" . Nobody seemed offended.

I have only heard it used on this board. When my husband or friends talk about the Dominican Republic they usually always refer to it as Santo Domingo. They also refer to the United States as New York quite often.

Thank You, AtlantaBob, for bringing this up. ....

Are you from the "New" if you are from New Zealand? Are you from the "United" if you are from the United Kingdom? Are you from the "South" if you are from South Africa?.....of course not.

I must say that this does bug the heck out of me. Those who use the term "from the Dominican" either do not understand grammar, or choose to use it for some other reason. I am a Dominican. I am not from the Dominican. The Dominican Republic is the name of the country, whether we like it or not. When I meet someone and he/she tells me his/her name, I respect the person's name and use it as is. I don't turn to the person and say: "Hey look, Joe Schmoe, your name is too long. Can I call you come moco instead?"

I know its time consuming and a lot of work to use 2 words (Dominican Republic) instead of 1 (Dominican), but former is correct and the latter is not.

This post is not directed at any particular group. I get especially offended when some lazy ass Dominican misuses the term.

mondongo

Wow...I just changed sides. Well said, mondongo! You had me at "come moco"...

I have to agree w/ Atlanta Bob & Mondongo

Refering to the country as "the Dominican" is not proper usage and no matter what some on this board may say, does bug, if not offend, many Dominicans. My wife and her family, to provide one example covering some 140-150 individuals, see red when they hear this. Frankly, when I lived in the RD, the few times I heard this usage (besides this board) was from tourists and newbies. The people who had actually lived for awhile in Quisqueya never spoke of the country this way. They may refer to the country as "Santo Domingo" or "La Rep?blica" or "RD" or "DR," but never "the Dominican."
Someone noted that many Dominicans tend to refer to their country as Santo Domingo and the US as "New York." This also drove me crazy, especially in my writing class, when they would be asked to compare/contrast two cities and they would compare New York (the city) with Santo Domingo (meaning the DR as a whole). I always told them that contrary to what some capitle?os might believe, SD is NOT the entire Rep?blica Dominicana -- Santiago, San Pedro, San Francisco, Duverge, La Romana, Bani, Hato Mayor, Monte Cristi, Barahona all contribute to the wonderful mosiac which is Quisqueya. Similarly, they should wake up and realize that NYC is not the be-all and end-all that most Dominicans seem to think it is, that the US has so much more to offer that is nothing like NYC (and many non-NYC Americans are glad of it!).
Regards,
Keith