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In some passage, I've noticed that the "the" article is used before some words at the first time but it is not used at the second time before the words.

As example, In this passage:

You might be wondering about the origin of the C language and where it got its name. C was created by Dennis Ritchie at the Bell Telephone Laboratories in 1972. The language was created for a specific purpose: to design the UNIX operating system now known as Linux. From the beginning, C was intended to be useful—to allow busy programmers to get things done. 

<p>Because C is such a powerful and flexible language, its use quickly spread beyond <strong>Bell Labs</strong>. Programmers everywhere began using it to write all sorts of programs. Soon, however, different organizations began utilizing their own versions of C, and subtle differences between implementations started to cause programmers headaches. In rresponse to this problem, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) formed a committee in 1983 to establish a standard definition of C, which became known as ANSI Standard C. With few exceptions, every modern C compiler has the capability to adhere to this standard.</p>

<p>ow, what about the name? The C language is so named because its predecessor was called B. The B language was developed by Ken Thompson of <strong>Bell Labs</strong>. You can guess why it was called B.</p>

Ref: Teach yourself C in 21 Days. Bradley L. Jones, ‎Peter Aitken, ‎Dean Miller. 2013.

You may noticed in the passage that, "the" used before Bell Laboratories at the first time but the second time, the article "the" is not used. Why?

Is this is a rule of article? Or something else?

Araucaria - Him
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Farhad Reza
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    Where did you find this sentence? It contains many article mistakes, so I would not try to find any rule about using articles in that sentence. – oerkelens Jan 31 '15 at 16:19
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    oerkelens is correct, but I'd use the 'the' first and the zero article second here also. Use of the article in the first case shows formality, a sign of respect. The second time, more familiarity is expressed (because we now know all about them). – Edwin Ashworth Jan 31 '15 at 16:20
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    @EdwinAshworth You really think that an author who misses so many articles in that sentence actually thought about such finesse when it came to that one instance of the definite article? – oerkelens Jan 31 '15 at 16:22
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    No, but are you saying I musn't answer OP's implied 'In some passage[s], I've noticed that "the" is used before a noun phrase the first time the phrase is used, but not subsequently. Can you suggest a reason?' [Which I consider a good question; I've not 'answered' though because I realise the question isn't posed very well. Which one of us is missing the point?] – Edwin Ashworth Jan 31 '15 at 16:25
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    @EdwinAshworth I find it interesting that you would shift here, too. I wouldn’t. To me, Bell Laboratories and the Bell laboratories are two different entities (though they probably refer to the same thing), and I wouldn’t switch between the two unless I had a specific reason to. Bell Laboratories implies a proper noun, while the Bell laboratories implies a generic noun modified by a proper noun adjunct. As it happens, BL isn’t just the laboratories at ‘Bell’ but an entity unto itself, and I find the article as odd as, “He studies at the Harvard University”. – Janus Bahs Jacquet Jan 31 '15 at 16:38
  • @Janus choster makes the general points: 'As with the names of countries and geographic features, there are no absolute rules in naming institutions. It is simply Gosbank but always the Bundesbank ... With proper nouns, whichever usage becomes popular is that which becomes accepted, and sometimes (e.g. [the] Ohio State University) it is a muddle.... – Edwin Ashworth Jan 31 '15 at 16:54
  • 'Dropping the article is quite common in some other professional communication. People who work with a particular organization may personify it, especially in internal circles, and as English does not use articles for personal names, the article may get dropped.' This ties in with the more informal connotation of the article-less form. – Edwin Ashworth Jan 31 '15 at 16:55
  • Prose is made less boring by varying the expression of repeated references. I think that's all that's going on here. But there is an opposite rule that requires "the" before common nouns that are repeated references to the same thing. – Greg Lee Jan 31 '15 at 17:25
  • I was taught that "c" is not capitalized. Apparently the writer though he could get away with capitalizing it by making it the first word of both sentences, omitting the article. The other "article" anomalies are less explicable. – Brian Hitchcock Jan 31 '15 at 17:36
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    That *should* have read: "The C programming language was created by Dennis Ritchie and Ken Thompson at Bell Laboratories in 1972. Because C is a powerful and flexible language, use of it quickly spread beyond Bell Laboratories." – tchrist Feb 01 '15 at 02:23
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    @Brian Then you were taught wrong. I speak from a position of authority on this matter. – tchrist Feb 01 '15 at 02:25
  • @Tchrist: Indeed I was. Thank you for disabusing me of this misconception. As Mark Twain allegedly said..... – Brian Hitchcock Feb 01 '15 at 08:57
  • So, there was no article rule behind the passage. The passage is written in wrong way. Am I right? – Farhad Reza Feb 01 '15 at 13:49
  • You are probably right. I wouldn't say "the wrong way", because searching with Google shows that both "the Bell Laboratories" and "Bell Laboratories" have been used. However, I would say that the author was careless and should have been consistent. – Peter Shor Feb 03 '15 at 09:52
  • @oerkelens It's from a book that's been republished more than a dozen times! I don't really agree with you about the article usage being wrong here, btw. What are the other mistakes for you? – Araucaria - Him Feb 08 '15 at 13:45
  • @Araucaria: the short passage in the original version of the question was definitely wrong. Since there was no attribution, I could not compare it with the edited source. The original question mentions, for instance "C language was created" instead of the correct "C was created". – oerkelens Feb 08 '15 at 21:50

1 Answers1

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The Bell Laboratories communicates to me a wish on the part of the writer to emphasise just how important these Laboratories are. This having been established there is no need to use 'the' when the institution is mentioned again. This is my answer to the OP (although I agree with @oerkelens that the entire phrase doesn't look very well put together and this nuance may easily not have been being intended).

ADDED LATER (following downvoting of preceding text)

I'm mystified by the down voting of my original answer. Clearly the OP is carelessly written - but I share with @Edwin Ashworth the view that "...the second time (Bell Laboratories are cited), more familiarity is expressed (because we now know all about them)". Notice, incidentally how a 'The' before Bell Laboratories in the foregoing sentence would be clumsy.

Consider another example - Strawberry Fields Orphanage (the one in the Beatles song). I could happily begin writing ... The Strawberry Fields Orphanage features in a famous song by the Beatles. I might then go on to say ... Many children who went to Strawberry Fields Orphanage became musicians.

I might even go on and say how ...Beatles songs are very popular with many people around the world (i.e.dropping the definite article of their name), and even though they were officially THE Beatles, my usage there is common and unremarakable.

Dan
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