quote:Originally posted by David Sands: Finally an active member.
Wouldn't be more correct to say 'occasionally' active member.
-------------------- Great is the guilt of an unnecessary war. ~ohn Adams
Once again the Bush Administration is worse than I had imagined, even though I thought I had already taken account of the fact that the Bush administration is invariably worse than I can imagine. ~Brad DeLong
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Registered: Mar 1999
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quote:Originally posted by Cartman: If you pronounce the "h", write "a". If you don't, write "an". Tres simple.
I have a feeling that it relates to whether the word comes originally from French or some other language. But I lack the motivation to do any research, so we'll just assume that I am right.
And I wouldn't be too harsh on Andrew. I doubt the majority of the population knows when to use it. I've certainly seen "an hotel" enough to know that a large number don't.
-------------------- Yes, you're despicable, and... and picable... and... and you're definitely, definitely despicable. How a person can get so despicable in one lifetime is beyond me. It isn't as though I haven't met a lot of people. Goodness knows it isn't that. It isn't just that... it isn't... it's... it's despicable.
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
Jay: well, if you want to take an originalistic interpretation, I suppose that's a fair criticism.
Liam: I'm also seeing "an historical" more frequently too. I think it's a product of what's more orally euphonous. The convention seems to be changing somewhat. Whether it will last is anyone's guess. I remember a few years ago you started to see "co�perate" in news articles. That never seemed to pan out to other words and no one has bothered with diacritic marks on that or other English words since. And, of course, who can forget the classic Onion headline "�nited St�tes of Am�rica toughens image with umlauts"?
-------------------- "Warfare is the greatest affair of state, the basis of life and death, the Tao to survivial or extinction. It must be thoroughly pondered and analyzed."
"...attaining one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the pinnacle of excellence. Subjugating the enemy's army without fighting is the true pinnacle of excellence."
-Sun Tzu, The Art of War, 6th century B.C.E.
Registered: May 1999
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posted
I think, strictly speaking, you're supposed to use "a" any time that the 'h' is pronounced. But, if you say things like "an historical" or "an hypothesis", it's because the accent is on the second, rather than the first, syllable. Thus, "an hisTORical", but "a HIStory". And "an hoTEL". Though, I admit, that one does sound a little funny.
And, regarding the original topic (plus picking apart English grammar)... I'm not surprised the guy kept trying to stand up. The cop kept telling him to "turn around". Now, maybe it's just me, but turning "around" involves being in some sort of upright position. If he wanted the guy to lie face-down, he should have said "turn over". And I'm not even being nit-picky here. When I hear someone say "turn around", the only thought that automatically occurs to me is to turn about an axis perpendicular to the ground. If I were lying on the ground and someone told me to "turn around" (and I were going to stay on the ground), I'd turn so my head was where my feet had been. Not change from face-up to face-down or vice versa. Is that an unusual interpretation?
Registered: Mar 1999
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quote:Originally posted by David Sands: And, of course, who can forget the classic Onion headline "�nited St�tes of Am�rica toughens image with umlauts"?
Of course the hilarious irony of the heavy metal obsession with umlauts is that germans actually percieve umlaut-ed letters to be weaker than their conventional counterparts and so completely failed to 'get' what the American and British bands were doing. The culmination of this phenomenon being an entire audience screaming Moertley Crueh! during a M�tley Cr�e performance in Germany.
-------------------- Garbled, confusing and quite frankly duller than an inflight magazine produced by Air Belgium.
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And it wasn't meant as a criticism of any sort. Just an observation.
-------------------- Great is the guilt of an unnecessary war. ~ohn Adams
Once again the Bush Administration is worse than I had imagined, even though I thought I had already taken account of the fact that the Bush administration is invariably worse than I can imagine. ~Brad DeLong
You're just babbling incoherently. ~C. Montgomery Burns
Registered: Mar 1999
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WizArtist II
"How can you have a yellow alert in Spacedock? "
Member # 1425
posted
quote:Originally posted by Aban Rune: Maybe English is just an overly complicated language?
Perhaps we should use Ebonics instead.
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Registered: Nov 2004
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-------------------- Justice inclines her scales so that wisdom comes at the price of suffering. -Aeschylus, Agamemnon
Registered: Aug 2002
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posted
Jay: not taken as such. Limitations of the written word again. Lack of inflection is a bother.
TSN: I think you're on to something there. Anapestic (and dactylic) meters have better rhythm than iambic and trochaic. (Or should it be "trocha�c"?)
Marauth: very interesting!
-------------------- "Warfare is the greatest affair of state, the basis of life and death, the Tao to survivial or extinction. It must be thoroughly pondered and analyzed."
"...attaining one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the pinnacle of excellence. Subjugating the enemy's army without fighting is the true pinnacle of excellence."
-Sun Tzu, The Art of War, 6th century B.C.E.
Registered: May 1999
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-------------------- Justice inclines her scales so that wisdom comes at the price of suffering. -Aeschylus, Agamemnon
Registered: Aug 2002
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