Bill & friends:
One of the main obstacles is
the perception that metric is something 'foreign' being pushed on them.
Generation of discussion of the 'spellings for Metre & Litre' has led to
avoidable flow of filling INBOX and 'time investment' in reading mail
responses. However, interesting.....
My point here is: 'What is Metric and how do we differentiate *metric from
decimal*'? Here is my view that I have insisted for almost 35 years:
The METRE was divided into parts of 'ten', and those further into 'ten'
times smaller or larger. The 'metric system' is often confused with the
decimal notation:
"Metric, pertaining to or of the metre; -system, decimal measuring system
with the metre, & litre and the gram determined by it, as the units of
length, capacity and weight; the prefixing to the metre etc., of the Greek
derived 'deca-, hecto-, kilo-' denoting multiplication by 10, 100, 1000 as
in kilometre of 1000 metres; that of Latin derived 'deci-, centi-, milli-,
denoting division by 10, 100, 1000 as in decilitre, one-tenth of a litre".
It is, therefore, to be understood that any quantity that is decimally
divided or multiplied is ONLY decimal; and it can be classified into the
Metric domain if and only if this is also linked to the length Unit METRE,
to belong to the SI Metric System of Units.
Brij Bhushan Vij <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
(Kali5106-W23-04)/D-265+1 (Friday)2005 Sept.23H0594(decimal) IST
Aa Nau Bhadra Kritvo Yantu Vishwatah -Rg Veda
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From: "Bill Potts" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[email protected]>
Subject: [USMA:34608] Re: spelling
Date: Thu, 22 Sep 2005 10:47:02 -0700
Good translations, except for one.
Fender is not American for bumper, but for wing. Bumper is bumper in both
versions of English.
I used to make the same mistake many years ago, when I still lived in
England. We had a fender around our fireplace, which looked very much like
a
car's bumper, so I assumed the American term "fender" referred to what we
called the bumper. It was only after I emigrated to Canada (in 1957) that I
discovered my error.
Bill Potts, CMS
Roseville, CA
http://metric1.org [SI Navigator]
>-----Original Message-----
>From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>Behalf Of Tom Wade VMS Systems
>Sent: Thursday, September 22, 2005 02:24
>To: U.S. Metric Association
>Subject: [USMA:34604] Re: spelling
>
>
>
>>My point was not that I am advocating that all Americans should change
to
>>the 'metre' spelling but rather the use of two different
>spellings comes to
>>us all at a considerable cost.
>
>But is this cost really necessary ? The most important point about the
>differences between American and British spelling is that the words are
>still mutually intelligible. We can see the spelling differences, but we
>know exactly what is being meant. In all the discussion forums I take
part
>in which contain a mix of English speaking Americans & non-Americans, I
>have never seen a case where spelling causing confusion (apart from the
>occasional idiot who will try to insist that one is 'right' and the other
>'wrong').
>
>A far greater impediment is where totally different words are used, e.g.
>car parts trunk [boot], hood [bonnet], muffler [silencer], fender
[bumper],
>or where the same word means something entirely different e.g. biscuit,
>chips. This has by far the potential to cause genuine confusion, and
>requires much more editorial effort to protect against. In comparison,
>trying to standardize (or even standardise) on spelling would make little
>or no difference.
>
>As for the metric issue, the spelling and pronunciation of the unit
>words (not the symbols) vary between languages and dialects. Thus if
>confusion is to be avoided, the symbols should be used in articles rather
>than the names.
>
>Finally, the object of this group is to promote the greater use of
>metric worldwide, particularly in the US. One of the main obstacles is
>the perception that metric is something 'foreign' being pushed on them.
>Trying to push British or French spelling conventions on metric units
>will simply reinforce this perception, and make metric conversion
>harder.
>
>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_and_British_English_differences
>
>-----------------------------------------------------------------
>Tom Wade | EMail: tee dot wade at eurokom dot ie
>EuroKom | Tel: +353 (1) 296-9696
>A2, Nutgrove Office Park | Fax: +353 (1) 296-9697
>Rathfarnham | Disclaimer: This is not a disclaimer
>Dublin 14 | Tip: "Friends don't let friends do Unix !"
>Ireland
>
