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Why does the name " United States " gets article?

Like:

He is from Japan

He is from the United states

But Japan doesn't get article. Why?

Thanks

CowperKettle
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GforOevOerD
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    She is from India, he is from the United Kingdom. But She is from the Republic of India, he is from Britain. The same principle applies here, except that there is no English name for modern Japan which includes the type of state (it's not the Empire of Japan, even though there is an emperor, as that name refers to the prewar entity). – choster Aug 14 '15 at 23:11

1 Answers1

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The word "states" is not a proper noun. It's essentially "those states [of America] that are now united" (add capitalization as desired).

Victor Bazarov
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  • I have searched and found it that it's best to call the countries by the name they have introduced themselves as to the English language. – GforOevOerD Sep 16 '15 at 17:35