Pedants' Paradise

[Nick Armstrong]

This made me laugh and think of The R3 Forum!

[Pabmusic]

This made me laugh and think of The R3 Forum!

Wow! “Grammar perfectionists are both intellectually and morally superior to other types of human."

I've always known that I'm a grammar perfectionist, because even when I disagree with you, I know it's me who's right.* (And so do you, deep down.)



["...it's me who's right"

A suitable garden for hoeing, surely?]

[french frank]

Should stop people posting for a bit.

But the Mash omitted, "It's not just pedantry: the reasons for some of this grammatical sloppiness are intrinsically interesting."

Btw:

"The clip, directed by Grant Singer, sees the star perform to a bar of disinterested punters, who yawn as they throw their drinks at him." ( http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/enter...-arts-33373175 )

[Nick Armstrong]

Rather an odd question on University Challenge this evening - Paxo gave a sample phrase and asked 'How in that context is the word effervescent spelt?' ...

Is it spelt any other way in any other context??!

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Rather an odd question on University Challenge this evening - Paxo gave a sample phrase and asked 'How in that context is the word effervescent spelt?' ...

Is it spelt any other way in any other context??!

Yes - I was puzzled by that. It made me wonder if there might be a Scientific version, "effervescant": something that causes a liquid to fizz.







But there isn't.

[Bryn]

Yes - I was puzzled by that. It made me wonder if there might be a Scientific version, "effervescant": something that causes a liquid to fizz.







But there isn't.

Wiktionary advises that effervescant is the "third-person plural present active subjunctive of effervēscō" (in Latin). There is also this jewel.

[jean]

It would be, if you ever needed to say [if they, provided that they, let them] bubble up (but they don't).

It's much more likely to be a misspelling of effervescent (from the present participle of the same verb).

Your link appears to be an example of that.

And the mystery of the question remains.

[french frank]

And the mystery of the question remains.

How did he pronounce it? Effervessent (effervescent) or efferveskant (effervescant)? Was it questioning spellings of eg dependent/dependant?

[LeMartinPecheur]

Revelations re Pistorius on R4 News tonight

In the mild furore about the early release - or not - of Mr Pistorius on tonight's R4 News c.5.30 tonight, a reporter told us that Mr P (no relation I'm sure...) had "shot [his partner] dead - four times".

In that case shouldn't he have got four consecutive 10-yr sentences?

[Stillhomewardbound]

"UK seeks data on Quebec crash victims". (BBC News website)

What an obtuse headline. Who writes our news these days?

The word 'data' has a multitude of meanings and is so non-specific.

Indeed, click on the link to the story and you get the true intent:

'UK Foreign Office 'urgently' seeks to identify victims.'

Couldn't they have said that in the first place?

[teamsaint]

Has it been holiday time for pedants?

Anyway, more a potential discussion point that pedantry. I was always intrigued when doing schoolboy Latin at the apparent lack of a simple equivalent for " Yes" and " No", words that seem so useful and central to our language.
But perhaps they are poor quality short cuts for more sophisticated responses, or perhaps the Romans just didn't think of them !! Do other Languages have equivalent lack, or maybe it isn't lack, just poor understanding on my part.

Talk among yourselves !

[jean]

I was always intrigued when doing schoolboy Latin at the apparent lack of a simple equivalent for " Yes" and " No", words that seem so useful and central to our language.

But mostly used in the spoken language, which we have few examples of.

Ita vero seems to have done quite well for yes, and minime for no, along with aother particles/adverbs. But we really don't know what they said, or indeed what gestures might have replaced words altogether.

Latin also lacked a definitie article, and when you look at Romance languages you can see what Latin originals they developed theirs from. But I have no idea what were the origins of si, ouiand the rest.

[french frank]

Welsh doesn't usually use Yes or No. If the question is: 'Are you going' the answer would normally be a formula meaning 'I am' or 'I'm not'. Or 'Do you …': 'I do' or 'I don't' &c.

Oui and non go back to roots which aren't really a simple Yes or No (rather That and Not).

I'm not sure how frequently Ita and Minime were used by the Romans as simple affirmative/negative; or whether Latin teachers (mine, anyway) offered them to help learner pupils who couldn't manage replies more complicated than Yes and No. And needed to know how to say them.

[jean]

Has it been holiday time for pedants?

Yes!

Here's something from the café at Nice airport: Sens de la queue helpfully translated Meaning of the queue.

[jean]

I'm not sure how frequently Ita and Minime were used by the Romans as simple affirmative/negative;

Ita vero turns up in texts of a more colloquial kind such as Cicero's letters.

...teachers (mine, anyway) offered them to help learner pupils who couldn't manage replies more complicated than Yes and No. And needed to know how to say them.

Very necessary in the heyday of Direct Method in Latin (now not so fashionable!)