Pedants' Paradise

[amateur51]

But your opponent was right - it doesn't mean the same as encourage. He was also right (I secretly checked) that it has found its way into dictionaries - even into the OED, which revealed to me that it's been around since 1968.

Not in the aesthetic aspect of the tussle he wasn't - it's a ghastly neologism



imho

[jean]

jean, I can tell you it was not a citation. The actual sentence was "Wirth referenced the Petain regime three times in his opening paragraph, in a book that claims to be an impartial history of the town".

Then it sounds as though made reference to would have been more appropriate. Or some other word or phrase altogether.

(In this thread let's all try to keep a distance from the subject)

Difficult if we're trying to decide exactly what the other word or phrase might be...best leave it there!

[jean]

Not in the aesthetic aspect of the tussle he wasn't - it's a ghastly neologism

Ah, but you only challenged him on meaning to begin with, suggesting encourage as an alternative - which it isn't.

[ahinton]

'To incentivise' has been the subject of an aesthetic tussle elsewhere - I think it's appalling.

And then there are derivatives such as "incentivisation" - but, as Pabs points out (albeit not in so many words), verb(ify)ing's nothing new and some examples derive from the blue sky thinking of centuries ago.

And then there's 'to capacity build' - "whatever happened to 'training'" I growled?!

Well, its split infinitive alone might be enough to deincentivise I mean discourage some people (apart from those who make capacitors, I suppose) from using that one. As to "training", whilst the context is of course different, I remember rail station announcements years ago about the need to change trains that instructed customers I mean passengers to "detrain"; I doubt that one could use such a word as "detraining" to describe the opposite of "training" (if such were even possible). I must admit that when I first heard of Mr Norris Changes Trains my initial reaction was "into what?"...

All that said, the expression "language was given to man to conceal his thoughts" retains pertinence, it would seem...

[amateur51]

Ah, but you only challenged him on meaning to begin with, suggesting encourage as an alternative - which it isn't.

On this level, I've only mentioned the aesthetic aspect, ahem.

You'll be in big trouble raising basement business in the Upper Chamber

[jean]

You hauled it up here - not me!

In fact, though you may find incentivise ugly, it is an exampe of a proper verb formation rather than the verbing of a noun.

[amateur51]

You hauled it up here - not me!

In fact, though you may find incentivise ugly, it is an exampe of a proper verb formation rather than the verbing of a noun.

I merely mentioned it, you've chosen to explore it.

Should it be spelled with an 's' or a 'z'?

[jean]

And then there are derivatives such as "incentivisation" - but, as Pabs points out (albeit not in so many words), verb(ify)ing's nothing new and some examples derive from the blue sky thinking of centuries ago...

But - since we're all pedants here - I have to point out that none of this is verb(ify)ing, which is taking a noun, naked and vulnerable, and using it exactly as it stands as though it were a verb, without stopping to deck it out with appropriate endings.

[jean]

I merely mentioned it, you've chosen to explore it.

Should it be spelled with an 's' or a 'z'?

Americans like z, we tend to prefer s.

Briefly (though I'm sure there's a long discussion on this somewhere) it depends on whether you go for the Latin/French s or pretend the words all came from Greek.

[jean]

And here's something I read just now - from a feasibility study commissioned by the Council into the building of a new stadium for Everton FC on a public park:

""In contrast to the current condition of Walton Hall Park, neighbouring
Stanley Park has been the benefactor of several years of
investment and restoration due mainly to its links with Liverpool
Football Club's expansion plans and the access to regeneration
funds... This transformation has cemented the importance of Stanley
Park in providing a green space for recreational activities for the
local community."

These people are mendacious, the since the Stanley Park stadium was never built. I find it somehow satisfying that they appear to be illiterate as well.

[mangerton]

But - since we're all pedants here - I have to point out that none of this is verb(ify)ing, which is taking a noun, naked and vulnerable, and using it exactly as it stands as though it were a verb, without stopping to deck it out with appropriate endings.

I'm at work and did this a few minutes ago. Someone came to me with a computer problem, and I was horrified to hear myself say "just task manager it".

Still, she knew what I meant.

[vinteuil]

Americans like z, we tend to prefer s.

Briefly (though I'm sure there's a long discussion on this somewhere) it depends on whether you go for the Latin/French s or pretend the words all came from Greek.

- .... there have indeed been many long discussions on this. Fowler and the Oxford University Press (and thus the OED and Hart's Rules) prefer z - 'The Times' used to prefer z but I think has changed - Cambridge I think prefers s - French Frank prefers s - I prefer z.

I am too weary to go through all the arguments and counter-arguments again...

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

- I prefer z.

You, me and Inspector Morse, vinty. (He once identified a murderer purely by spotting that he spelt "realize" as "realise" - very astute!)

[Serial_Apologist]

A similar tooth-enamel-peeling usage is "to evidence". "Have you evidenced this?" I was asked a couple of months ago. I wardrobed him.

Is he back in the closet now?

[Serial_Apologist]

Well, its split infinitive alone might be enough to deincentivise I mean discourage some people

Disincentivise, surely? if you're going to cite an incorrect word it should be correctly prefixed.