Comments for Pain in the English

Comment on Computer Keyboard by lcd monitor wall mount

lcd monitor wall mount — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:25:02 +0000

Great article. I work in the tv field and I can absolutely understand where you are coming from

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Comment on Fora vs Forums by Offended

Offended — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:33:37 +0000

What a horrible and aggressive forum this is! So unnecessary - I only came across this by googling forums vs fora and was confronted by this vile diatribe. Sort yourselves out. Go to "inadequate_bully_forums/fora" to continue this sort of nonsense.

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Comment on Current use of word “edgy” (December 2009) by Nigel

Nigel — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 13:04:41 +0000

I think it does have the connotations of danger and nonconformity that you mention, but surely it is also related the expression "on the cutting edge," which implies both originality and being very up-to-date. But there is no real right or wrong when you are talking about metaphors and connotations anyway.

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Comment on Capitalizing After the Colon by Nigel

Nigel — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 12:57:11 +0000

According to this site, capitalization following a colon is considered acceptable in America, but (aside from proper names or the like) not in England. I rather think, though, that even in America it is only OK if the part after the colon is a grammatically complete sentence. Dresden: Many excellent writers thoroughly despise Strunk & White. They think it is full of horrible advice, and is far too prescriptive, although I doubt that any would claim that every bit of advice therein is bad. Certainly it is sensible to pick and choose. As for the Chicago Manual, that is not just advice. If you are writing something to be published by University of Chicago Press, or another publisher that uses Chicago style, you have to do things their way. However, it does not follow that their way is better, and other publishers may insist on something different (or may trust the author's judgement). You are right about the dash, though. It is not a good thing to overuse.

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Comment on Like a red herring, but unintentional. by Nigel

Nigel — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 12:29:28 +0000

I am not convinced that red herring necessarily implies intention. It is hard to know exactly waht to suggest without knowing the exact nuance that you wish to convey, but you might find something that suits you in the Thesaurus.

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Comment on Resume, resumé, or résumé? by Robert Johnson

Robert Johnson — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 10:26:15 +0000

CV. But if you want to be French and use resumé, go ahead and include as many acute accents as it takes to make you happy and your word choice unambiguous.

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Comment on Resume, resumé, or résumé? by Austin Brian

Austin Brian — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 05:12:15 +0000

I finally looked it up in Websters and noticed the definition/pronunciation key included both accents because the word was originally was pronounced with two long "a" sounds for the accented "e." I think the confusion for us is that in current usage, people pronounce the word incorrectly, using "rez" as the first syllable instead of "ray". It is really fun to say with a French accent. 'Here is my ray-zu-may!'

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Comment on Resume, resumé, or résumé? by Austin Brian

Austin Brian — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 05:03:42 +0000

I agree with Savvy and porsche about the accent changing the vowel sound and pronunciation. I would use Resumé based on my past experience with reading French. Two accents looks like you don't know what you're doing and would be pronounced with the same sound for both "e" characters, and I think most people here would agree that's incorrect. Regarding Brian W.'s post, the sound of the vowels in a word is changed by where you syllabicate a word, which is why we pronounce the "e" sound when a syllable break is added before the final "e" (three syllables total). When used as resume (as in restarting something), there are only two syllables, not three, and in that case, the "e" is silent and is used to make the previous vowel sound long.

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Comment on Capitalizing After the Colon by Dresden

Dresden — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 23:39:05 +0000

This thread is informative enough that I may just bookmark it. I take issue to someone's stating: "The Elements of Style is a good book, but the CMoS is a higher authority." While this may literally be the case; the literary community commonly accepts TEoS, and it is recommended reading in a lot of cases. I have had instructors attempt to teach some of Strunk & White, picking and choosing, while disregarding the rest. I believe this is foolhardy; one should stick to a manual of style either wholly or not at all. One should choose the accepted manual that best fits their own style. So again, to the original poster: It is a matter of style. I would much prefer an auteur misusing a device, as long as they are consistent, to an auteur overusing a device. My girlfriend reads the "Twilight" series, and is often confused by a classic Stephanie Meyer usage of the dash. It may just be my bias, I hate to use dashes, but Stephanie is murdering the dash throughout her series.

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Comment on On Tomorrow by Geoff Collier

Geoff Collier — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 22:00:58 +0000

I teach at a historically black school in South Carolina, and it is very common.

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