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Re: Fix UK spelling in comments and ChangeLog entries?
From: |
Alan Mackenzie |
Subject: |
Re: Fix UK spelling in comments and ChangeLog entries? |
Date: |
Mon, 30 Jun 2008 14:43:16 +0000 |
User-agent: |
Mutt/1.5.9i |
Hi, Lennart!
On Mon, Jun 30, 2008 at 03:33:35PM +0200, Lennart Borgman (gmail) wrote:
> Alan Mackenzie wrote:
> >Hi, Kenichi,
> >On Fri, Jun 27, 2008 at 09:16:25PM +0900, Kenichi Handa wrote:
> >>Anyway, for me (a non native English speeker), the more helpful thing
> >>is to standardise which word to use (e.g. remove/delete,
> >>replace/substitute, accept/permit/allow, preserve/retain,
> >>put/set/store, property/attribute, vector/array, go-to/move-to,
> >>cancel/undo, etc.) :-p
> >NO!! Different words have different meanings. For example, if you
> >delete something, it's gone. If you remove something, you can later
> >put it back again.
> >You might substitute a fresh football player for a tired one, but
> >you'd replace a broken light bulb (answer, it only takes one Emacs
> >hacker to change a light bulb).
> >And so on.
> >There a few pairs of words indeed in English in which one means
> >exactly the same as the other. It is surely the same in other
> >languages. Let us strive, always, to use the most fitting word, and
> >to preserve and retain the fine control this gives us over our
> >meanings.
> That is nice. For some non native English speakers it would be good to
> have a document describing those small differences.
It would be for many native English speakers, too, particularly for
politicians and bureaucrats. Sadly, there isn't one, at least, not a
comprehensive one. If you're interested enough, find a copy of "Fowler's
Modern English Usage", preferably the second or first edition. It's a
classic.
--
Alan Mackenzie (Nuremberg, Germany).
- Re: Fix UK spelling in comments and ChangeLog entries?, (continued)
- Re: Fix UK spelling in comments and ChangeLog entries?, Juanma Barranquero, 2008/06/27
- Re: Fix UK spelling in comments and ChangeLog entries?, Kenichi Handa, 2008/06/27
- Re: Fix UK spelling in comments and ChangeLog entries?, Juanma Barranquero, 2008/06/27
- Re: Fix UK spelling in comments and ChangeLog entries?, Kenichi Handa, 2008/06/27
- Re: Fix UK spelling in comments and ChangeLog entries?, Alan Mackenzie, 2008/06/30
- Re: Fix UK spelling in comments and ChangeLog entries?, Lennart Borgman (gmail), 2008/06/30
- Re: Fix UK spelling in comments and ChangeLog entries?, David Kastrup, 2008/06/30
- Re: Fix UK spelling in comments and ChangeLog entries?, Lennart Borgman (gmail), 2008/06/30
- Re: Fix UK spelling in comments and ChangeLog entries?,
Alan Mackenzie <=
- Re: Fix UK spelling in comments and ChangeLog entries?, Johan Bockgård, 2008/06/30
- Re: Fix UK spelling in comments and ChangeLog entries?, David Kastrup, 2008/06/30
- Re: Fix UK spelling in comments and ChangeLog entries?, David De La Harpe Golden, 2008/06/30
- Re: Fix UK spelling in comments and ChangeLog entries?, Kenichi Handa, 2008/06/30
Re: Fix UK spelling in comments and ChangeLog entries?, Richard M Stallman, 2008/06/27