I apologize up front for continuing a topic of dubious value in IBM-MAIN, but at least I didn't initiate it. :-)
Unlike French and its Académie française there's no single definitive, official, recognized authority on the English language. The Oxford English Dictionary is a reference -- an excellent one for (the minority) British English in particular -- and Merriam-Webster is also a reference. There are others. The English language is a set of conventions with varying and evolving degrees of consensus. There's consensus on the proper uses (plural) of the word actionable. Merriam-Webster agrees with IBM. Dictionary.com (Random House) agrees with IBM. Now here's the surprise: even Oxford agrees, even for British English: http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/actionable?view=uk Perhaps you are looking at or (wistfully?) remembering an older edition? IBM is a U.S. headquartered company communicating in standard American English according to multiple major English language references. IBM invented many wonderful technologies, but as far as I know IBM neither invented nor particularly encouraged the second definition of actionable. Time would be better spent correcting clear violations of English language conventions. IBM's usage of the word actionable isn't even close to a violation. It's a newer usage of the word, but it's a consensus-correct one. That's not to say time pursuing actual violations of consensus would be *well* spent necessarily, but at least it would be better spent, in my view. As an entirely separate matter, is the second definition of actionable so-called "management speak," which some people wish were, well, actionable? Yes, probably. There's an irony here, though. The first definition is useful mostly to lawyers ("lawyer speak"). I'm not highly confident lawyers would win a popularity contest against managers. :-) I favor treating the word data as the plural of datum, e.g. "the data are clear." My use of the word data tends to follow that preference. Nonetheless I recognize it's now only a personal preference, not a deviation from consensus. Here's what Oxford says: http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/data?view=uk "In Latin, data is the plural of datum and, historically and in specialized scientific fields, it is also treated as a plural in English, taking a plural verb, as in the data were collected and classified. In modern non-scientific use, however, it is generally not treated as a plural. Instead, it is treated as a mass noun, similar to a word like information, which takes a singular verb. Sentences such as data was collected over a number of years are now widely accepted in standard English." I have not met many people who speak or write the English of Shakespeare or Chaucer except when performing or quoting Shakespeare or Chaucer. Nor have I met many people who litter their modern prose with thys and thines. Broad acceptance of the multi-page single sentence ended many years ago. The English language evolves, and it has always been so from the language's origins which were far, far from "upper class." There is little to lament and much to celebrate in English's ongoing evolution. If second definition actionable irritates you, please don't visit Singapore. You would suffer from the linguistic equivalent of anaphylactic shock. :-) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Timothy Sipples GMU VCT Architect Executive (Based in Singapore) E-Mail: [email protected] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [email protected] with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
