Timothy Sipples wrote: >I apologize up front for continuing a topic of dubious value in IBM-MAIN, >but at least I didn't initiate it. :-)
Neither did I, per se - I started the thread, but not the digression into word use! And yeah, this equine is pretty deceased, but as the son of a (himself deceased, seven years today) linguist, I must note that this is the classic battle between the two schools of linguistics: descriptive and prescriptive (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linguistic_description and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linguistic_prescription). Particularly in the era of texts and Twitter, I'd submit that the strict prescriptivists are bailing against the tide, although of course Humpty Dumpty wasn't correct, either: '...And only one for birthday presents, you know. There's glory for you!' `I don't know what you mean by "glory",' Alice said. Humpty Dumpty smiled contemptuously. `Of course you don't-till I tell you. I meant "there's a nice knock-down argument for you!"' `But "glory" doesn't mean "a nice knock-down argument",' Alice objected. `When I use a word,' Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, `it means just what I choose it to mean-neither more nor less.' `The question is,' said Alice, `whether you can make words mean so many different things.' `The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, `which is to be master-that's all.' Indeed, which is to be master? ...phsiii ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [email protected] with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
