> Question to Mike: do you really mean "intelligible," or did 
> you mean "intelligent?" 

I meant intelligible, in a somewhat metaphoric sense. For example, someone might be 
said to be unintelligibly muttering. Or a schizophrenic might be unintelligibly 
ranting. I was referring more to the latter sense of the word.

> like "meme," but "intelligible?" In my experience, people 
> don't go around trying to make themselves sound more 
> "intelligible," except for the fine folks I've worked with in 
> radio and video who do voice-overs, where being 
> "intelligible" is stock in trade.

In my experience, people who are trying to sound more intelligent frequently succeed 
only in being more unintelligible.

BTW, according to Encarta,

intelligible   

inÂtelÂliÂgiÂble [in tÃllijÉbâl]
adj 
1.  understandable: capable of being understood 
his ideas were barely intelligible  <---this is sorta kinda the thing I was getting at.
 
2.  philosophy understandable by the mind alone: perceptible only by the mind, not the 
senses  

[14th century. Via Old French from Latin intelligibilis , from intellegere âto 
perceiveâ (see intelligent).]

-inÂtelÂliÂgiÂbilÂiÂty [in tÃllijÉ bÃllÉtee], n 
-inÂtelÂliÂgiÂbleÂness [in tÃllijÉbâlnÉss], n 
-inÂtelÂliÂgiÂbly, adv 
Microsoft Encarta Reference Library 2003.  1993-2002 Microsoft Corporation. All 
rights reserved.

So, given all the above, I'd say your objections are perfectly intelligible, but 
somewhat incoherent.


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