Grammar and the Beeb

[TwickenhamCyclist]

My favourite was the continuity announcer stating that “the time now is five o’clock Greenwich, [very long pause] mean-time, in London…”

 

[slowmotion]

'Less people employed', troops 'trained up' rather than trained and involved in 'fire fights/fire-fights/firefights' rather than battles or skirmishes.

You've just reminded me of "fire-fighters"... I was having quite a good day before that.

 

[siadwell]

euro not Euro... But the official style guide of the EU says it's OK to use euros as well now!

Or should that be drachmas...

"drachmae" surely

 

[srw]

"drachmae" surely

"drachmai" actually. "drachmae" is the plural in Latin. YMMV if you speak modern Greek rather than ancient.

 

[shirokazan]

The celestial body the Sun, is a sun.

It's a star, isn't it?

 

[swee'pea99]

It's a star, isn't it?

Good point. It's a star, and also the Sun.

Many planets have moons, but there's only one Moon. (Assuming it is the Moon. Is it?)

 

[Andy_R]

[quote name='swee'pea99' timestamp='1317836641' post='1869801']
Good point. It's a star, and also the Sun.

Many planets have moons, but there's only one Moon. (Assuming it is the Moon. Is it?)



[/quote]

It is indeed, and is owned jointly by a co-operative consisting of Mr & Mrs Spoon, and various Names in the Clangers registry of insurance. Oh, and the Illuminati too, don't forget them. They're everywhere, evil little b@ggers.

 

[benb]

It's a star, isn't it?

All suns are stars. A star is only a sun if it's the centre of a planetary system; that is, it has planets orbiting it.

 

[Andy_R]

All suns are stars. A star is only a sun if it's the centre of a planetary system; that is, it has planets orbiting it.

umm...no. A star is a star. We have arbitrarilarilly(sic) called ours the Sun. Ask an astophysicist if you want clarification. Or an etymologist. That is why there is no plural for Sun, but there is for Stars.

 

[mr_cellophane]

Similarly
hoover - generic name for a vacuum cleaner
Hoover - vacuum cleaner made by the Hoover company

 

[benb]

umm...no. A star is a star. We have arbitrarilarilly(sic) called ours the Sun. Ask an astophysicist if you want clarification. Or an etymologist. That is why there is no plural for Sun, but there is for Stars.

Um, no. A sun is a star at the centre of a planetary system. If it has orbiting planets, it's a sun (and a star). If not, it's just a star.

See the Ask an astronomer site.

 

[Hover Fly]

I think that is a case of scentists altering the language to suit theirselves. When the words sun and star came into use people wouldn't know that the big shiny thing during the day was essentially identical to the little shiny things at night, apart from the distance. Hence one sun, many stars.

 

[Arch]

umm...no. A star is a star. We have arbitrarilarilly(sic) called ours the Sun. Ask an astophysicist if you want clarification. Or an etymologist. That is why there is no plural for Sun, but there is for Stars.

Suns.

As in, "It burned with the heat of a million suns" or similar.

(No idea what 'it' would be, I made it up. It's more a literary device, really)

 

[benb]

Oh, these dictionaries all give my definition as one of the definitions of sun, so I'm right.

http://www.chambersharrap.co.uk/chambers/features/chref/chref.py/main?title=21st&query=Sun
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sun
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sun#Noun
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/sun

 

[swee'pea99]

Surely the plural of Sun is Suni. As in 'it's a Suni day'.







IGMC