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I know that when dealing with proper names, there are some exceptions, e.g. The Hague, that the definite article 'the' before the names needs to be capitalised, as mentioned in an earlier post here (link) and in the Hart's Rules. May I ask apart from The Hague, could you give some more examples of these exceptions? Thanks!

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    Off the top of my head, the historic house The Vyne and the French cities Le Havre and Le Mans where the definite article is part of the name. See also en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_Kingdom_locations:_The-Thh Commented Jan 8, 2020 at 9:38
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    I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because a request for other examples of a concept that is understood is not a valid question in terms of SE EL&U. Commented Jan 8, 2020 at 19:31
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    @David, it is not obvious that the OP is asking 'for other examples of a concept that is understood', because it is not obvious that there is a concept (reason, principle) behind these exceptions. Perhaps what motivates the question is a curiosity as to whether the additional examples will reveal some common reason for their being the exceptions. Commented Jan 9, 2020 at 16:20
  • Thanks for all of your answers, which are helpful! Commented Jan 16, 2020 at 2:24

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According to the Chicago Manual of Style, "Entities that appear on maps are always capitalized, as are adjectives and nouns derived from them. An initial the as part of a name is lowercased in running text, except in the rare case of an initial the in the name of a city."

So of the examples given in the previous response, only those names of cities (or municipal districts) that appear on an official map would be capitalized: The Rocks, The Gap, and The Bog. The rest are regional bynames.

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  • What makes a map 'official'? Commented Jan 8, 2020 at 15:39
  • What makes a map "official" is that it is published by a government entity. Commented Jan 8, 2020 at 17:09
  • Does CMOS speak for non-US Anglophone nations? Commented Jan 8, 2020 at 19:53
  • @EdwinAshworth , no, it does not. But in checking the New Oxford Style Manual (2005), the same holds true at least for the UK. One would imagine there are as many style guides as there are English-speaking countries, since each has its own unique form of English. Commented Jan 13, 2020 at 15:18
  • And hence the question as stated is opinion-based. 'Regional bynames' are often style-defined by local councils etc, so the question is irredeemably over-wide in scope. I've even seen spelling variations on different maps, never mind capitalisation (or even article inclusion) variations. Commented Jan 13, 2020 at 15:27
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This may be ‘off topic’ (no definitive answer is possible) as there are hundreds of place names in the English language beginning with the capitalised definitive article (“The X”) across the world.

In the US, “The Hamptons” and ”The Bronx” spring to mind.

In Australia, Sydney has “The Rocks”, Brisbane has “The Gap” and Tasmania has “The Gardens” (Binalong Bay) “The Springs” (near Hobart) and “The Fisheries” (Coles Bay).

The UK has “The Bog”, “The Butts” and “The Cliff”.

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    I'm sorry, but the Bronx and the Hamptons are not exceptions. Look at the Wikipedia articles ... the is only capitalized at the beginning of a sentence. And I lived near NYC for over a decade ... Wikipedia is correct to treat them this way. Maybe you capitalize the in The Bronx in Australia, but they don't capitalize it in the Bronx. Commented Jan 8, 2020 at 12:18
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    Accepted. I unwisely relied upon Google Maps. There is no “The Bronx” in Australia. We should refer I suppose to the relevant nomenclature boards or similar government bodies that specify officially accepted place names. I did so for the names I listed for my home State and for the UK too. Commented Jan 9, 2020 at 20:00

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