With regard to whether there's anything wrong with continuing the discussion:
I understand that some (most?) people here disagree with my claim that the -er spelling is superior from a linguistics standpoint, and that in itself wouldn't be worth anyone getting upset over. It is a perfectly legitimate subject for debate and everyone is welcome to his/her view. What really bothers me is the kind of condescending, Anglocentric elitism that sometimes accompanies the arguments some people make for their opinions on these issues. On an otherwise intelligent, multi-national discussion forum such as this one, I find it odd to receive the occasional message sneering that the reason for the spelling difference is that the people of the United States are inherently too incompetent to understand any basic language rule. It would be easy for someone else to retaliate with a similarly adolescent nationalistic attack and we could have ourselves a good, old-fashioned flamewar. Instead, I propose to drop the subject before it incites any farther conflict. --- Bill Potts <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Patrick and Pat: > > I think some in this discussion are taking this too seriously. My > "pseudo-graffiti," for example, was simply in a message to this list server > (about ten years ago). > > I'm not aware of anyone here who is pushing to create a flood of > documentation (editorial, informational, specificational, educational, or > otherwise) promoting metre over meter within the US. Some years ago, there > were a couple of zealots on the list who might have done so, but they seem > to have disappeared into the mists of time. > > In the meantime, there's nothing wrong with the discussion itself (Brian's > comments notwithstanding). Anyone who thinks it's too trivial can ignore it, > after all. > > Bill > _____ > > Bill Potts > W <http://wfpconsulting.com/> FP Consulting > Roseville, CA > <http://metric1.org/> http://metric1.org [SI Navigator] > > > > _____ > > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf > Of Patrick Moore > Sent: Tuesday, September 30, 2008 12:23 > To: U.S. Metric Association > Subject: [USMA:41777] re: re > > > The graffiti implies that metre is a misspelling, which of course it is - in > the USA. > > I can't think of anything that members of this group could do that would > more greatly, or with less effort, impede metrication than to distribute > literature that thoughtlessly uses the -re spelling. It provokes xenophobic > rejection. > > > _____ > > From: Pat Naughtin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Reply-To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Date: Wed, 1 Oct 2008 04:54:28 +1000 > To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[email protected]> > Cc: "U.S. Metric Association" <[email protected]> > Subject: [USMA:41774] RE: metre or meter > > On 2008/09/17, at 2:41 PM, Bill Potts wrote: > > > > I remember Congress rejecting metre as being somehow un-American, which led > me to create the pseudo graffiti saying, "Metre is un-Amreican." > > Bill > > > _____ > > > Bill Potts > > WFP Consulting <http://wfpconsulting.com/> <http://wfpconsulting.com/> > Roseville, CA > <http://metric1.org> http://metric1.org <http://metric1.org/> > <http://metric1.org/> [SI Navigator] > > > > Dear Bill, > > I tried to check the details of how and when Congress made this decision at > <http://thomas.loc.gov/home/multicongress/multicongress.html> > http://thomas.loc.gov/home/multicongress/multicongress.html but could not > find any references that included meter and metre and spelling. Perhaps I'm > not searching the right way or am I at the wrong site for this. Can you (or > anyone else) help? > > Cheers, > > Pat Naughtin > > PO Box 305 Belmont 3216, > Geelong, Australia > Phone: 61 3 5241 2008 > > Metric system consultant, writer, and speaker, Pat Naughtin, has helped > thousands of people and hundreds of companies upgrade to the modern metric > system smoothly, quickly, and so economically that they now save thousands > each year when buying, processing, or selling for their businesses. Pat > provides services and resources for many different trades, crafts, and > professions for commercial, industrial and government metrication leaders in > Asia, Europe, and in the USA. Pat's clients include the Australian > Government, Google, NASA, NIST, and the metric associations of Canada, the > UK, and the USA. See <http://www.metricationmatters.com/> > http://www.metricationmatters.com/ <http://www.metricationmatters.com/> > <http://www.metricationmatters.com/> for more metrication information, > contact Pat at [EMAIL PROTECTED] or to get the free > 'Metrication matters' newsletter go to: > <http://www.metricationmatters.com/newsletter/> > http://www.metricationmatters.com/newsletter/ to subscribe. > > > > > >
