Translation of 'Thus'

Question

thus declaring itself the Republic of Paraguay in 1813

The bot offers two possibilities:

1 .. proclamando así la República del Paraguay en 1813.

2 .. proclamándose de este modo la República del Paraguay en 1813.

I put ... proclamándose así la República del Paraguay en 1813. which was marked as an error.

Is there a difference in usage between 'así´ and 'de este modo'

Also, why is it la República del Paraguay but la República de Argentina ?

Gracias

Answer

Hola David, “Thus” can be used with two meanings;

It can mean “therefore” which would be “así,” e.g. “we all met on-line before the trip and thus [therefore] we all got on well when we met at the airport.”

It can mean “in this way or manner,” e.g “whisk the eggs thus.”

The official name of Paraguay is La República del Paraguay. In English we might translate this as “The Republic of El Paraguay.” To the best of my knowledge, to be strictly correct, in English we should call Paraguay “El Paraguay.” Certainly when I was younger it was common to use the name in that way.

I hope this helps. Saludos. John

Answer

Thanks JohnYou've certainly cleared up the Paraguay question. Very interesting to know that.I'm not sure if there is any real difference between 'así' and 'de 'este modo'Maybe the difference is with the verbs proclamar vs proclamarse.I'm hoping a tutor will provide a definite explanation.

Answer

That’s a really interesting thought David - way above my pay grade. Over to Inma.

Answer

Ojalá :-)

Answer

Hola a todos,
With reference to the country Paraguay, the official name is La República del Paraguay, however the natives and also in Spain we tend to omit the word república and also omit the article and refer to it simply as "Paraguay". Both options then in the writing challenge should be accepted (with or without the article) so that will be revisited. 
As for así andde este modo, they are synonyms and you can use both in different contexts. De este modo is slightly more formal than así but they are pretty much interchangeable. 
Saludos