Subject:
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British English (Was: Semi-ADMIN: Pause Train Reference...)
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.fun
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Date:
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Thu, 25 Mar 1999 18:17:32 GMT
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Reply-To:
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jsproat@#avoidspam#geocities.com
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Viewed:
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488 times
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Joshua Delahunty wrote:
> [Some pedants reading this may want to note that I use the British
> English
> usage of commas (and full stops) OUTSIDE quoted material. I hereby
> acknowledge this, and state that I prefer it. So there. :-)]
I'm no language buff, but this has made me curious: Are the British rules
governing comma usage affected more by grammar or vocabulary? Also, by the
term "full stops", do you mean two full spaces after each sentence, or a
completely different concept?
Your usage of commas pretty much matches mine. A couple of sample
paragraphs follow, taken from your post to lugnet.admin.database:
> The rest are self-propelled, but don't really fit the criteria that they
> have or take a train motor. I could introduce a "Vehicles" category, or
> "Support Vehicles", but introducing more categories seems a little silly
> to me. What do other folks think?
> [...]
> This may fit the Train enthusiasts view, but I think the public at large
> would ask WTF? about such a categorization. I'm not saying I'm really
> against it, just that it doesn't have seem to have as generic a usage
> as might be desired. Again, what's the group consensus here?
obconspiracy: A history teacher tried telling me that the Americans tried
to grossly modify the English language to make it appear distinct and apart
from the language spoken in England. (Evidently, the suggestions of
adopting Latin, German, or Hebrew as the official language didn't go over
too well.) Noah Webster's first dictionary was compiled for just this
purpose, with a special commission from the new government.
Anybody know if this is true?
Cheers,
- jsproat
--
Jeremy H. Sproat <jsproat@geocities.com>
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Horizon/5249/
"The world will not perish for want of wonders but for want of wonder"
-- British scientist J. B. S. Haldane (1892-1964)
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