Pedants' Paradise

[kernelbogey]

...I'm not at all sure where these split indicatives that nobody complains about fit in.

'He failed to regularly indicate whether turning right or left.'

[jean]

I'd want to complain about that one!

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I've noticed that 'phenomenon' is falling into desuetude , and a singular event is often described with the plural noun (e.g. 'this phenomena').

"Criteria" is similarly abused.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

... but presumably only for those living on the Greenwich Meridian?

It's never on the 21st, but is frequently on the 23rd.

[french frank]

"Herron envisions the upgrades as allowing seamless movement between different "modes and moods" of performers who might range from a full symphony orchestra to a rock band…" (re the Sydney Opera House modernisation project).

It prompted me to look up the difference between 'envision' and 'envisage' (the former getting 27m google hits, against the latter's 17m).

I don't think I've ever used the word 'envision' (first OED eg 1921) though I do use 'envisage' (OED 1820/1836 depending on meaning). It's a discussion aired on the internet, but apart from the very early definition of 'envisage' ('to look in the face') I don't detect a clear distinction in its current usage. I find this explanation:

"Both envision and envisage mean to visualize, but they differ slightly in connotation. To envisage is to contemplate or consider something—usually something real—in a certain way, or to predict a particular set of circumstances based on evidence or strong belief. Envisaging often relates to planning real-world projects. When you envision something, it’s usually more hypothetical, imaginary, or removed from reality. The difference is subtle, but think of it this way: Envisaging usually involves something real, while envisioning involves mostly imaginary elements. You might envision a distant goal that you have not begun to work toward. Later, as you plan how to reach that goal, you might envisage how you’re going to do it with the time and resources you have available."

On this basis, shouldn't the SOH quote be 'envisage' not 'envision'? Or is there no longer a genuine distinction: we use 'envision' now?

[Bryn]

I think "envision" the more apposite here. it refers to a concept of "allowing seamless movement ... ", not the upgrade as a material construction.

[Pulcinella]

I think "envision" the more apposite here. it refers to a concept of "allowing seamless movement ... ", not the upgrade as a material construction.

Would that be like Microsoft's thinking behind the Windows 10 upgrade?
I wonder what they envisioned, or even envisaged.
Probably not, given the number of complaints/problems there have been.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Would that be like Microsoft's thinking behind the Windows 10 upgrade?
I wonder what they envisioned, or even envisaged.
Probably not the number of complaints/problems there have been.

I must be in a minority on this one, by my laptop's performance has improved considerably, since updating to Windows 10. (It still is over fussy, and I resent the computer trying to tell me what I want.

[french frank]

I think "envision" the more apposite here. it refers to a concept of "allowing seamless movement ... ", not the upgrade as a material construction.

That suggests, though, that it's a mere 'vision' of what might happen, with a favourable wind, rather than a spending of many, many millions of pounds on something which is an intented result. Doesn't it?

[Pulcinella]

From today's Times:

One in ten smartphone users reaches for their phone as soon as they wake up.

Really?

(Far better to say: Ten percent of smartphone users reach for.......)

[kernelbogey]

From today's Times:

One in ten smartphone users reaches for their phone as soon as they wake up.

Really?

(Far better to say: Ten percent of smartphone users reach for.......)

I suspect this might derive from journalists' training. 'One in ten' supposedly easier to comprehend.

A little bete noire of mine is the habit of rounding up or down numbers in a headline. For (made up) example: Headline (BBC style): 'Nearly three hundred people were killed when....'; continuing news item, 'The death total in xxx is now 291'. As though, the rule suggests, we are incapable of taking in 291 at first hearing.

Similarly, large sums in very common currencies like US dollars and Euros are converted into pounds sterling for headlines and sometimes the body of the story. I would have thought that most people would be able to have a grasp of what a million dollars means, or a million euros. (Obviously, obscure currencies are a different matter.)

[Pulcinella]

I suspect this might derive from journalists' training. 'One in ten' supposedly easier to comprehend.

That was not my concern, in fact.
It is the singular reaches that grates, and the use of their then simply compounds the problem they've created (though I'm comfortable with ’their' in general rather than 'his or her', but it might have made the subeditor involved here pause for a microsecond!).

[jean]

It is the singular reaches that grates, and the use of their then simply compounds the problem they've created (though I'm comfortable with ’their' in general rather than 'his or her', but it might have made the subeditor involved here pause for a microsecond!).

It sound fine to me!

[Pulcinella]

It sound fine to me!

Really?
The 'one in ten' is not a singular 'one' person who reaches; the nearest associated noun (plural users) surely cries out for plural reach?
But, as I mentioned earlier, I would have avoided the situation by using a percentage.

[french frank]

Really?
The 'one in ten' is not a singular 'one' person who reaches

No, it's a 'cumulative' - one in every ten. It's singular if you think there are only ten users of smartphones, in which case 'their' is being used as an alternative to his/her.

But the fact that it 'sounds fine' to an unquantified number of people means it will be used.