On 7/12/2014 3:50 PM, Brian wrote:
> On Fri 11 Jul 2014 at 19:52:38 -0400, Jerry Stuckle wrote:
>
>> On 7/11/2014 5:06 PM, Brian wrote:
>>> On Fri 11 Jul 2014 at 16:33:52 -0400, Jerry Stuckle wrote:
>>>
>>>> On 7/11/2014 3:25 PM, Brian wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> You are going to hate me for this: there is no "." after Mr; it is a
>>>>> contraction. (Off-topic is that way ----------->).
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> No, it's an abbreviation, not a contraction. As a contraction it would
>>>> be M'r.
>>>
>>> Contractions *are* abbreviations. The reverse doesn't apply.
>>>
>>
>> No, there is a difference between a contraction and an abbreviation.
>> "Can't" is a contraction. "Mr." is an abbreviation.
>
> I see. "Can't" is not a shortened form (an abbreviation) of cannot.
>
True. It is a contraction.
>>> Please say "e.g. Mr Smith".
>>>
>>> Louder, please. We cannot hear you.
>>>
>>> That's better.
>>>
>>> Now the difference between an abbreviation which is a contraction and
>>> one which is not is clearer.
>>>
>>> Does the following make sense?
>>>
>>> Dr Moriarty, Prof. Andrews and Miss Gladstone all taught at the
>>> University of St Andrews and worked at the BBC?
>>>
>>>
>>
>> Nope. It should be "Dr. Moriarty" and "St. Andrews". Both are
>> abbreviations. If they were contractions, they should have an
>> apostrophe (') in them.
>
> You will have inform Dr Moriarty and the University of St Andrews:
>
> http://www.boltonft.nhs.uk/consultants/dr-kieran-moriarty/
>
> http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/
>
> What are our univerities and the NHS (N.H.S.?) coming to?
>
Yes, the English universities have always been good at clobbering the
language :) I don't know about that side of the pond, but it's been
"Mr." over here since the 1700's or before, as indicated by some old texts.
>> Contractions have apostrophes which replace the missing characters.
>> Abbreviations are terminated with a '.'. If the word(s) is (are)
>> shortened, you need one or the other.
>>
>> But then that is standard English, not British :)
>
> I had forgotten about the use of the full stop in the USA.
>
>
Yes, we strive to keep the English language pure, despite the efforts of
those no good Brits :)
--
==================
Remove the "x" from my email address
Jerry Stuckle
jstuck...@attglobal.net
==================
--
To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-user-requ...@lists.debian.org
with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org
Archive: https://lists.debian.org/53c1f2f7.50...@attglobal.net
