Hi, Petr. I'm answereing here first before I look at Wikipedia. <snip>
> Oh, thanks. By the way, is the use of "such"+"as" neutral here? I > simply want to list some of them, but also avoid the repetitive "for > example", "for instance" and "e.g." collocations... I took it easy on the style corrections. There is a spectrum ranging from looking for typos to totally rewriting, and I stayed on the low end. Anyway, now that you mention it, you could remove "such scholars as" to advantage. The reader sees a list and is happy to tick off the names one by one without help. Furthermore, the "and others" at the end of the list renders "such as" somewhat redundant. And we assume they're scholars. If you want the cachet of respectfulness "scholars" lends, in addition to dropping "such scholars as" you could end with "and other scholars." To answer your question directly, I am quite a lot more literal-minded than many, it seems. So, for me, "such as" is not neutral, and I am left slightly wondering what it is about these scholars that makes them similar to the other unnamed scholars you seem to have in mind. > > > works of such scholars as Robert Bleichsteiner, Karl Bouda, E. J. > > > Furnée, René Lafon, Edward Sapir, Robert Shafer, Morris Swadesh, > > > Olivier Guy Tailleur, Vladimir N. Toporov, Alfredo Trombetti and > > > others. However, in the 1980s, it was Sergei Starostin who, using > > > strict linguistic methods (regular phonological correspondences, > > > reconstructions, glottochronology <snip> > > > etc.) first put the ideas on a > > > firmer ground. > > > I think you want "on a firmer footing." That's a cliche, and > > ordinarily to be avoided as such, but used sparingly they don't > > detract, in my humble opinion. "On firmer ground" (no "a") would be > > OK, too. > > I see. Are there any better phrases I could use? Sure, dozens, but you're OK. "Better" is subjective, anyhow. <snip> > > > 1 It has been suggested that the ancient Aquitanian and maybe also > > > Iberian languages > > > Unclear. I can't tell whether this is COIK error (Clear Only If Known) > > or overly optimistic use of the conjunction. If the Iberian you refer > > to is the ancient one, if ancient one there be, it should be, "...the > > ancient Aquitanian and maybe also the ancient Iberian languages...". > > If not, then, "...the ancient Aquitanian and maybe also the Iberian > > languages...", and the next word has to change from "were" to "are." I > > don't know the facts here, but that works to our advantage. > > I see. Then I should explain it a bit. > There were two languages in the Antiquity: Aquitanian and Iberian. > They both might have been the relatives, or even the ancestors of the > present-day Basque language. As both the Iberian speakers and > Aquitanian speakers were assimilated by the Celtic, Roman and finally > also Germanic invaders, there is no need to use the attribute > "Ancient" of course. However, some readers may not know the two > languages don't exist any more, that they were spoken many centuries > ago, so I wanted to give them this information somehow... Ah. I took "ancient Aquitanian" to be the name of the language, sort of, almost like "High German," so "ancient" couldn't span the conjunction. This is what happens when a genius writes for idiots. How about, "It has been suggested that the now-extinct Aquitanian and maybe also Iberian languages...". I used "extinct" not knowing the correct term in your field. Insert the right one. <snip> > > > whereas the > > > latter might include the ancient Hattic language as well. > > > As well as what? > > Etruscan, Hurrian and Urartian (they are all ancient languages) might > have been members of the East Caucasian family, Hattic might have been > a member of the West Caucasian family. I think I see. Drop the "as well." <snip> I'm going to look at Wikipedia now. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Correct my English" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/correct-my-english -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
