Re: Rounding errors

From: Chuck Stevens (charles.stevens_at_unisys.com)
Date: 08/30/04 

Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2004 14:34:05 -0700

"Robert Wagner" <robert@wagner.net.yourmammaharvests> wrote in message
news:fo07j05mcb78ga01l7i9l9tslce0f7sn33@4ax.com...
> On 30 Aug 2004 05:36:15 -0400, docdwarf@panix.com wrote:
>
> >... this is the kind of paranoid, self-pitying, passive-aggressive
> >delusion often suffered by one whose progenitors were consanguinaceous,
> >aye.
>
> When using big words to call someone stupid, it is really important to
> spell them right. Otherwise, you look like the fool.

Hm. I personally have no problem with someone combining a stem and a suffix
to produce a term that more accurately represents the author's intent than a
more-commonly-used form -- such has been characteristic of both Germanic and
Romance languages for some time now.

The only word that Microsoft Word identifies as a spelling error is
"consanguinaceous", and I honestly do not put a whole lot of stock into the
judgment of that particular piece of software when it comes to English
spelling. I find "consanguineous" in my Webster's Collegiate, and I
suspect this is the word, and the spelling, that you would have preferred in
this context. The remainder of this message makes that presumption.

I see a subtle distinction between the suffixes "-aceous" and "-[e]ous".
The root -- "consanguin-" -- is common to both. I believe both the meaning,
and the distinction between the term used and the more common word in
Webster's, is clear based on the fundamental rules of compound formation in
English. The fact that a particular compound does not appear in an
accepted English dictionary does not necessarily mean that the compound word
does not express a valid meaning in English, nor does it mean that the
compound is obviously a misspelling of a word that *is* present in such a
dictionary.

In any event, it seems to me that the patent thrust of the characterization
to which you take exception isn't about *fundamental intelligence* but about
*behavior*. I think he who behaves foolishly will by his actions
precipitate the perception of his behavior as foolish. I don't see
"consanguinaceous" as a foolish spelling error but rather as the
appropriate, correct and accurate application of English rules for the
formation of compound words.

I don't think it's appropriate to contend that a person exclaiming "Heaven
forfend!" *really meant* "Heaven forbid!" just because the latter is more
commonly heard. Asserting that "Heaven forfend" is an error would, in my
view, be a foolish act, and if not a stupid one then a clear indication of
inattention during basic English classes. The same is true for complaining
about "consanguinaceous" as a spelling error for "consanguineous".

Do I really need to quote or even paraphrase "Forrest Gump" here?

    -Chuck Stevens

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