(The) Definite Article

Ken Adams is discussing definite articles over at his blog today.  The question is whether it’s appropriate or necessary to include the “the” before a defined term such as Vendor.  I’ll let Ken explain it in his own words.

In the ensuing small comment debate, I wrote a second response that apparently “muddied the waters” of the discussion.  But I felt the last argument had merit and I wanted to discuss it further with you.

Here’s my second (unpublished) post:

Oh, I agree… it IS semantics. But when I’m drafting/reviewing/editing 200+ documents/year, sometimes that’s all I have. :)

My average template software license and services agreement is more than 35 pages long. If my opponent decides that they want to change VENDOR to ACME, I have to be honest and say that I don’t want to have to go through the document again to remove each instance of “the” in front of ACME – because most likely, they’ve done it about 2 or 3 revisions in (when it’s not as easy to just undo and re-do properly).

In thinking about it more, however, aren’t we actually converting the defined term into a proper noun? And in doing so, putting a definitive in front of it is actually incorrect for the same reasons why you don’t say “The Acme” or “The Jeff”?

Specifically, I think that the use of a defined term might convert that term into proper noun… and even if it doesn’t automatically, it would if the item it’s defining is a proper noun.  In other words, “Vendor” would be  a defined term that would also now convert into a proper noun because it’s serving as a replacement for “Acme Corp”, which is already a proper noun.  On the other hand, “Services” might not be a proper noun, as the term Services is typically defined as “the work performed by the Vendor”.

Thoughts?

The Licensing Handbook Blog is the companion site to the Software Licensing Handbook. Covering licensing topics on a regular basis, Jeffrey Gordon attempts to offer advice, add humor and sometimes even a bit of wit to a practice that most people find abhorrent – namely, reading a contract from start to finish.

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