Dodi Schultz
October 22nd, 2006, 04:21 PM
>> In a multicultural environment where we might do things differently
>> and also given 'n' (where n= 2831) different dictionaries and the
>> internet...
Oh, true, John--and boy, can THAT be confusing. (I will have some
interesting comment vis-à-vis the real def when this round is over.) But I
didn't mean matters of substance, i.e., somewhat differing defs. Or even
style, as long as it's an accepted one (e.g., "Scot" vs "Scots," or whether
some etymological notes come first, last, or as part of the def).
>> I always ask re spellings like 'sulphur' and 'colour' and
>> 'aluminium' (and I often ask the dealer to standardise mine to
>> American unless it is self evident to me that mine has to be
>> English).
I agree with that, and since most of the players are American and so am I,
I do standardize to US spelling. (And usage; where you used single quotes
above, for instance, they'd be double here.) It wouldn't bother me, though,
if you or another player over there, when dealing, standardised all the
defs to UK.
When I'm not sure--and I'm NOT always sure; sometimes a spelling looks
weird to me and it turns out to be perfectly correct--I look it up. BTW, I
just looked up a usage in your message quoted above, and it should be
"self-evident," with a hyphen (both UK and US dictionaries say so). I'd
definitely fix it if it appeared in a submitted def. (I've already capped
the "E" in "English"; didn't have to look that up.)
--Dodi
>> and also given 'n' (where n= 2831) different dictionaries and the
>> internet...
Oh, true, John--and boy, can THAT be confusing. (I will have some
interesting comment vis-à-vis the real def when this round is over.) But I
didn't mean matters of substance, i.e., somewhat differing defs. Or even
style, as long as it's an accepted one (e.g., "Scot" vs "Scots," or whether
some etymological notes come first, last, or as part of the def).
>> I always ask re spellings like 'sulphur' and 'colour' and
>> 'aluminium' (and I often ask the dealer to standardise mine to
>> American unless it is self evident to me that mine has to be
>> English).
I agree with that, and since most of the players are American and so am I,
I do standardize to US spelling. (And usage; where you used single quotes
above, for instance, they'd be double here.) It wouldn't bother me, though,
if you or another player over there, when dealing, standardised all the
defs to UK.
When I'm not sure--and I'm NOT always sure; sometimes a spelling looks
weird to me and it turns out to be perfectly correct--I look it up. BTW, I
just looked up a usage in your message quoted above, and it should be
"self-evident," with a hyphen (both UK and US dictionaries say so). I'd
definitely fix it if it appeared in a submitted def. (I've already capped
the "E" in "English"; didn't have to look that up.)
--Dodi