Pedantic question about standardisation

[lxdude]

My grandfather had no time for Churchill, referring to him as a warmonger.

But Chamberlain declared war, in September 1939.

 

[Steve Smith]

why was Alan Turing not given a posthumous Nobel Prize for his contribution to computation?

Still plenty of time for a posthumous one.


Steve.

 

[blansky]

In terms of remembering people, why was Alan Turing not given a posthumous Nobel Prize for his contribution to computation?

Because he was gay.

 

[Steve Smith]

Because he was gay.

There. He said it!

However, he isn't any more so he can have a posthumous award.


Steve.

 

[blansky]

There. He said it!

However, he isn't any more so he can have a posthumous award.


Steve.

Exactly.

He's repented. He's given up his deviate ways. He's reformed.

So now can we honor him.


The guy was one of the most influential people on the outcome of the WW2 and most people have never heard of him.

 

[cliveh]

Because he was gay.

Any Nobel Prize committee members on APUG, or those who know them care to comment.

 

[Steve Smith]

Changing the subject, something I think should be punishable be being hanged, drawn and quartered (not fourthed) is the American abuse of the words Notre Dame which somehow managed to get changed to Noter Dame.

First of all the re at the end of notre doesn't have an er sound so unlike most words which have re changed to er and show some logic, this one doesn't (I'm not sure if it is always written er but that is the way I have always heard it pronounced by Americans).

Dame in French is pronounced dam, not as in there is nothing like a dame. As it is a name, the pronunciation shouldn't change.


Steve.

 

[lxdude]

IIRC, Nobels are not awarded posthumously.

 

[blansky]

Changing the subject, something I think should be punishable be being hanged, drawn and quartered (not fourthed) is the American abuse of the words Notre Dame which somehow managed to get changed to Noter Dame.

First of all the re at the end of notre doesn't have an er sound so unlike most words which have re changed to er and show some logic, this one doesn't (I'm not sure if it is always written er but that is the way I have always heard it pronounced by Americans).

Dame in French is pronounced dam, not as in there is nothing like a dame. As it is a name, the pronunciation shouldn't change.


Steve.

Because it's in Indiana.

Say no more, say no more.

The Hooooooosier state.

God help us.

 

[Gerald C Koch]

Actually, most English comes from German anyway.

English is considered to be a germanic language and the 500 most commonly used words are germanic in origin. However, there was a large influx of Norman French after 1066 with the adoption of French verb forms to replace germanic ones. Scholarship during the Middle Ages also added a large Latin vocabulary. Estimates of the number of words in the language vary from half a million to four millian. The vaste number of these are not gemanic. Unlike the Germans we tend to borrow words rather than invent new ones. Words like bungelow, pajamas, boondocks, khaki, etc are all borrowed.

 

[cliveh]

IIRC, Nobels are not awarded posthumously.

Why not? The guy deserves one.

 

[Steve Smith]

Because it's in Indiana.

Well, the real one is in Paris (the one in France, not Texas!).


Steve.

 

[Leigh B]

...the American abuse of the words Notre Dame which somehow managed to get changed to Noter Dame.

I've never seen that in my oh-so-many decades of existence on this side of the pond.

I've only encountered the French spelling.

- Leigh

 

[Steve Smith]

Unlike the Germans we tend to borrow words rather than invent new ones. Words like bungelow, pajamas, boondocks, khaki, etc are all borrowed.

I think they're stolen rather than borrowed. We have no intention of giving them back!


Steve.

 

[blansky]

Because it's in Indiana.

Say no more, say no more.

The Hooooooosier state.

God help us.

There's an underlying sentiment in parts of the US that goes something like "I'm a uneducated moron and damn proud of it".

 

[Steve Smith]

I've only encountered the French spelling.

It was the pronunciation rather than the spelling I was commenting on (I did note that I wasn't sure about the spelling).

EDIT: Look, a Facebook page with the er spelling: http://www.facebook.com/pages/noter-dame/114745995205046

And more: http://national.citysearch.com/profile/645968090/east_stroudsburg_pa/noter_dame_middle_school.html


Steve.

 

[Leigh B]

There's an underlying sentiment in parts of the US that goes something like
"I'm a uneducated moron and damn proud of it".

That is unfortunately true.

More unfortunately... It's hereditary, and making babies is the only thing the morons can do.

Even an absolute idiot can get one thing right once a year.

- Leigh

 

[lxdude]

Changing the subject, something I think should be punishable be being hanged, drawn and quartered (not fourthed) is the American abuse of the words Notre Dame which somehow managed to get changed to Noter Dame.

Steve.

And they're The Fighting Irish.

 

[lxdude]

Why not? The guy deserves one.

Sure. If the rules were changed numerous injustices could be rectified. The only question would be how to award the prizes.

 

[Gerald C Koch]

One of the words that really annoys me is comptroller. Governments in the US and newscasters seem to love this word. In reality it is French and should be pronouced just like the English word controller. The M is pronounced like N and the P is silent. But when you do this it doesn't sound so impressive.

 

[blansky]

One of the words that really annoys me is comptroller. Governments in the US and newscasters seem to love this word. In reality it is French and should be pronouced just like the English word controller. The M is pronounced like N and the P is silent. But when you do this it doesn't sound so impressive.

You sound kind of comptrolling.

 

[Gerald C Koch]

If procreation required a user's manual the human race would have died out millenia ago.

 

[Thomas Bertilsson]

If procreation required a user's manual the human race would have died out millenia ago.

So in order to control population growth, perhaps we should write one...

 

[blansky]

If procreation required a user's manual the human race would have died out millenia ago.

I don't really care if they're screwing I care that they're voting.

 

[E. von Hoegh]

Twenty six pages and no one has mentioned the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party yet!


Steve.

Do you mean Adolf Hitler?