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I saw a usage of "in US English" in a dictionary, which I think it should be "in the US English" instead. The reason is that the full version should be "the United States" and not "United States". I'm not sure if I am correct?

"Definition of hundred in US English:"

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  • Well, if you accept that there are many Englishes, there is the US English among them.
    – IS4
    Commented Sep 7, 2017 at 10:54

2 Answers 2

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No. When "US", "UK", "UN", "UAE" etc are used as nouns, they have the definite article "the" preceding them.

We are going to the US next week.

The UK held a referendum on EU membership.

The issue will be raised at the UN.

However, when they are used attributively, as though they were adjectives, there is no article.

UK law prohibits copyright infringement.

US senators serve six-year terms.

UN member states will discuss the issue.

Sometimes there's an article, but that's because the article is required by the following noun:

The US Constitution protects freedom of expression.

A US physicist has just won a Nobel prize.

Hence, we would refer to "UK English" and "US English" - although it is probably more common to call them "British English" and "American English".

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  • 6
    Often abbreviated "BrE" and "AmE", respectively, on ELU and ELL. Commented Sep 7, 2017 at 2:15
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    In English we would write "in English" (indeed, I just did that at the start of this sentence) and not "in the English". That stays the same when you put an adjective in between, even if it's compound ... "In broad-Australian English ..." for example, still works like "In English"
    – Glen_b
    Commented Sep 7, 2017 at 4:35
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    @dan - Yes, it is awkward to expand the adjective US into "United States". For some reason "US" is an adjective, but "United States" is only used as a noun. Also worth noting that "USA" is a noun but not an adjective.
    – AndyT
    Commented Sep 7, 2017 at 9:13
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    @rjpond, you wrote when they are used attributively, as though they were adjectives, there is no article . To be precise, when they are used attributively, as though they were adjectives, the article that is used is that required by the following noun. Commented Sep 7, 2017 at 11:41
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    @AndyT, I agree that "United States" often sounds awkward attributively, but I think expressions such as "the United States government" are nevertheless possible.
    – rjpond
    Commented Sep 7, 2017 at 12:00
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I consider the example highlighted is correct. "in the US English" seems awkward because US English is a single unique object already, no need to article-specify it. Curiously, English over-emphasizes "the" which can be dropped in many cases with no loss of understanding.

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  • Really? Usually the word "the" is used as an alternative to "a" (definite vs. indefinite article). The book refers to some particular well-known book, whereas a book refers to an indefinite book. (I guess it makes sense for proper nouns though, like "the US Constitution", you need "the" because US is effectively an adjective and if you dropped it you'd need to say "the constitution")
    – Jason S
    Commented Sep 7, 2017 at 15:09
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    This isn't good reasoning. "The British prime minister" is a unique object but you cant say "British prime minister is Theresa May." Commented Sep 7, 2017 at 18:37
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    "in the US English" is using US as an adjective of the noun English. You wouldn't say "in the English" in this case. With 'the' it looks weird and sounds weird.
    – Xenson
    Commented Sep 7, 2017 at 21:53
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    @hvd "Theresa May is British prime minister." just sounds horrible, to me at least.
    – Stephen S
    Commented Sep 8, 2017 at 1:37
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    In Russia, British Prime Minister is you!
    – CJ Dennis
    Commented Sep 8, 2017 at 2:51

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