On Tue, 22 Mar 2011 10:19:24 +0000 Andrew Haley <aph@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > On 22/03/11 09:54, Colin Paul Adams wrote: > >>>>>> "Andrew" == Andrew Haley <aph@xxxxxxxxxx> writes: > > > > Andrew> On 21/03/11 21:19, Vaclav Mocek wrote: > > >> > > Andrew> Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary really should warn > > Andrew> learners that the first usage, although common, is > > Andrew> technically incorrect. > > > > There's no such thing as technical correctness when it comes to > > (human) languages. > > Even if I were to agree with that rather extreme non-prescriptivist > opinion, the Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary should still warn > learners about "begging the question". Whether the first usage is > *actually* incorrect is irrelevant as long as some people believe that > it is. You can find someone on the internet who will believe anything is incorrect. Oxford by the way take bug reports, so you can write them a letter giving examples of the problematic usage and suggesting changes - but IMHO you have to balance excessive detail against usefulness in any learning process. Anyway Humpty Dumpty had it right: ---- `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.' ---- (Alice Through The Looking Glass: Lewis Carroll) And that is probably the most intelligent discussion of "English" words and language ever written... -- users mailing list users@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx To unsubscribe or change subscription options: https://admin.fedoraproject.org/mailman/listinfo/users Guidelines: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Mailing_list_guidelines
