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Re: Display or appear (Was: Can "either" be used ... )
Subject:Re: Display or appear (Was: Can "either" be used ... ) From:Bonnie Granat <bgranat -at- att -dot- net> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Fri, 05 Oct 2001 17:16:49 -0400
Mike Stockman wrote:
>
> On 10/05/2001 4:27 PM, Bonnie Granat (bgranat -at- att -dot- net) wrote:
>
> >"Beg the question" does *not* mean "causes questions" or "brings up
> >questions". This is not the first time I've seen it misused on this list,
> >but it is the first time I am commenting. I hope you will all forgive me.
>
> I'll try, but exactly what "beg the question" means comes down to the
> same argument as many other definitions in English today... prescriptive
> vs. descriptive grammar. For a good discussion about how "beg the
> question" originally/actually means something other than today's common
> usage, see <http://www.quinion.com/words/qa/qa-beg1.htm>. The author of
> that page takes a more forgiving attitude than you appear to, and points
> out that several dictionaries now are starting to accept the "incorrect"
> meaning as valid.
>
Yes, that was a good article, and I was glad to notice that he concluded
the "newest" usage is "better avoided". You forgot to point that out.
> I suppose you can be the grammar police all you want (although Eric
> specifically forbids it for this list), but you may find it less
> stressful in the long run to recognize that language evolves, and your
> favorite phrases probably won't stay the same forever.
The use of a phrase is not a grammatical issue, so if you want to insult
me, you will have to find something other than "the grammar police" as an
epithet.
Of course the language evolves -- no one's disputing that -- but until it
does, there will always be people like me and the author of the article you
referenced that will argue our position.
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