On Mar 3, 5:32 pm, "Petr Hrubis" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > > 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. > > Well, I agree "better" is subjective, of course, but I'd like to be > acceptable to as many people as possible (although, I admit, > "majority" doesn't necessarily have to mean "the best", does it?).
Now that I've looked at it in situ, as it were, I quite like "on firmer ground." > > Ah. I took "ancient Aquitanian" to be the name of the language, sort > > of, almost like "High German," > > Well, I would have written "Ancient Aquitanian" (with a capital "A") Right. That's why I said "sort of." My bad. > > 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. > > Well, "extinct" is very general and is often used in this sense in > historical linguistics. By the way, the estimated time of extinction > is (roughly) 1st-2nd century AD. > > Another thing: what about "so-called"? I feel it is not neutral in > English, so I should probably replace it by something else...or simply > delete it...? What do you think? In Czech, it is absolutely neutral, > which confuses me a little. The other co-author, who isn't a native > speaker of English either, inserted it in the article several times, > but I doubt it is correct... That's problematical. We're talking about tone and connotation, which are unavoidably idiosyncratic. I gave the matter brief thought when I encountered the locution in your piece and concluded at the time that it was a satisfactory way of avoiding scare quotes. The thing is, "so- called" is snide in certain contexts and absolutely neutral in others. I think it defaults to neutral. Upon re-reading note 1, I see what you mean. I'm afraid I have to ask you what is meant by "so-called" in each of the three instances. I took it to mean that the names are not as yet widely recognized or accepted. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ 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 -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
