iandol on fri 14 apr 00
------------------
My apology to any of you who are not natural born speakers of English. You
deserve better examples from those of us who are.
The mass of post relating to possible harmful effects of ingesting Aluminium
Metal or compounds derived from Aluminium Metal cause me to ask, what is
Aluminum?
Apart from slipshod habits in preparing and sending postings to Clayart or a
cavalier attitude to the English Language I can only imagine it is a slang =
or
locally colloquial expression. Don=92t say that everyone knows we mean =
Alumina.
Everyone never informed me of that fact. It could be confused it with =
Aluminium,
with two I=92s.
If Clayart is to become accepted as an authoritative and valid reference
resource for current and future students, then it is imperative that those =
who
post to it take as much care as possible over the way they express =
themselves.
Editing and re-reading help to prevent errors prior to posting. So does =
using
Spell Check. Yes, the odd typo will get through. But an error in the heading=
is
inexcusable.
Again, I applogise to those who use English as their second language if they
used =22aluminum=22 in this discussion. I wish I could use their tongue as =
well as
they use mine
Ivor Lewis.
Gavin Stairs on sat 15 apr 00
At 10:32 PM 4/14/00, you wrote:
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>------------------
>My apology to any of you who are not natural born speakers of English. You
>deserve better examples from those of us who are.
>
>The mass of post relating to possible harmful effects of ingesting Aluminium
>Metal or compounds derived from Aluminium Metal cause me to ask, what is
>Aluminum?
Dear Ivor,
I would like to thank you for your piece of invective on the sloppy
spelling habits of some of us. I plead guilty to spelling Aluminium
Aluminum. I was taught to do it that way, because that's how we North
Americans pronounce and spell this element. Australians and Brits may have
to grit their teeth and bear it, because American usage seems to be taking
over more and more. We Canadians have a bad case of split personality. We
still favour (favor?) the ou's, re's and other constructions that Noah
Webster abhored, but some of our number are giving up the good fight and
following American practice. The case of Aluminum is more
straightforward. It is just about universal in North America.
Again, thanks for the revilement, can't get enough of that stuff.
Gavin
Nikom Chimnok on sun 16 apr 00
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>The mass of post relating to possible harmful effects of ingesting Aluminium
>Metal or compounds derived from Aluminium Metal cause me to ask, what is
>Aluminum?
**********************************************
Aluminum is simply the American version of aluminium, which is the British
version of aluminum. The chemical symbol for either spelling is Al. Alumina
(Al2O3) is the oxide of aluminium, if you speak British English, or of
aluminum, if you speak American English.
Nikom, happy to use any spelling or pronunciation that will keep the
customers happy
Norman van der Sluys on sun 16 apr 00
Ivor,
Perhaps Clayart is not an "English" language medium, but rather an American lang
one. Here in the former colonies we tend towards labor-saving (sic) strategies s
as omitting the "u" in labour, and that extra sylable in Aluminium that turns it
into such a tongue-twister. :o) To avoid confusion with sentry we spell centre
phonetically, thus center. And we rise to the top floor of our skyscrapers in
elevators. When we need a lift we stop for a cup of coffee. Still, we both speak
languages that could well pronounce "ghoti" as fish. (gh as in cough, o as in
women, not woman, and ti as in nation.)
iandol wrote:
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> ------------------
> My apology to any of you who are not natural born speakers of English. You
> deserve better examples from those of us who are.
>
> The mass of post relating to possible harmful effects of ingesting Aluminium
> Metal or compounds derived from Aluminium Metal cause me to ask, what is
> Aluminum?
>
> Apart from slipshod habits in preparing and sending postings to Clayart or a
> cavalier attitude to the English Language I can only imagine it is a slang or
> locally colloquial expression. Don t say that everyone knows we mean Alumina.
> Everyone never informed me of that fact. It could be confused it with Aluminiu
> with two I s.
>
> If Clayart is to become accepted as an authoritative and valid reference
> resource for current and future students, then it is imperative that those who
> post to it take as much care as possible over the way they express themselves.
> Editing and re-reading help to prevent errors prior to posting. So does using
> Spell Check. Yes, the odd typo will get through. But an error in the heading i
> inexcusable.
>
> Again, I applogise to those who use English as their second language if they
> used "aluminum" in this discussion. I wish I could use their tongue as well as
> they use mine
>
> Ivor Lewis.
--
Norman van der Sluys
-in idyllic Western Michigan
Janet Kaiser on sun 16 apr 00
Ivor,
Yes, of course it is English. No one is a "natural born" English speaker, we
all had to learn. I was raised in an area of the UK where English is the
second language. (Welsh being the first). Some learned better than others,
depending on ability and inclination. It is also good to remember that most
of the English taught as a foreign language (EFL) around the world is no
longer British English, but North American English.
A-loo-mi-num is how they pronounce Aluminium in American English. Here
Aluminum is written phonetically and quite understandable. It is therefore
hardly going to create havoc amongst EFL learners (or anyone else) as it
cannot be confused with any other word. If they can spell labour, centre,
theatre and other words in a trans Atlantic way, it is only a matter of time
before Aluminium joins the crowd and officially becomes Aluminum.
Languages are living entities and people learning a new language are
intelligent enough to put two and two together. It is not the individual
words which defeat learners, it is the slang and colloquialisms which
confuse them. Along with SHOUTING and funny accents. I do not know whether
you intended it, but your post sounds very pompous and condescending.
I personally think you should be more accommodating and tolerant of spelling
mistakes. It is not the end of the world. This is an adult discussion list,
not English papers to be marked in red by "Sir" in grade school. If you pick
up on this sort of minor error, it will discourage all those who are not
blessed with perfect English taking part at all. Surely not your intention?
IMHO Intellectual, linguistic snobbery is intimidating and unhelpful,
especially in a discussion list primarily dedicated to craftsmanship and
practical issues in clay. These exchanges are a lively and open discussion,
not words written in stone.
Janet Kaiser - Yn mwynhai fy h#n (enjoying myself)
The Chapel of Art, Criccieth LL52 0EA, GB-Wales
Home of The International Potters Path
TEL: (01766) 523570
WEB: http://www.the-coa.org.uk
EMAIL: postbox@the-coa.org.uk
----- Original Message ------------------
My apology to any of you who are not natural born speakers of English. You
deserve better examples from those of us who are.
The mass of post relating to possible harmful effects of ingesting Aluminium
Metal or compounds derived from Aluminium Metal cause me to ask, what is
Aluminum?
Apart from slipshod habits in preparing and sending postings to Clayart or a
cavalier attitude to the English Language I can only imagine it is a slang
or
locally colloquial expression. Don't say that everyone knows we mean
Alumina.
Everyone never informed me of that fact. It could be confused it with
Aluminium,
with two I's.
If Clayart is to become accepted as an authoritative and valid reference
resource for current and future students, then it is imperative that those
who
post to it take as much care as possible over the way they express
themselves.
Editing and re-reading help to prevent errors prior to posting. So does
using
Spell Check. Yes, the odd typo will get through. But an error in the heading
is
inexcusable.
Again, I applogise to those who use English as their second language if they
used "aluminum" in this discussion. I wish I could use their tongue as well
as
they use mine
Ivor Lewis.
Sheron Roberts on sun 16 apr 00
------------------
Thank you Monona for your
last post. Thank you for all
your comments.
And Ivor, for some reason I
feel the need to reply to your
post concerning English.
If you only knew the time I do
spend composing, proof-reading,
editing, and YES spell checking
my posts, you would probably
think me either (pronounced,
eeeeether =7Bhere in North
Carolina=7D incredibly
conscientious, or painfully
slow. And guess what,
the spell checker spelled
aluminum, just the way I
typed it. And the aluminum
I was referring to was aluminum
cookware, nothing more, nothing
less.
Don't mean to be defensive but
we southerners (pronounced,
suuuuthaaanors) catch an awful
lot of flack for our drawls. So
we get a little touchy sometimes.
And it might have something to
do with the fact that I have had
to take prednisone for a week
and am feeling a bit =22testy=22 shall
we say. =3Cg=3E
Ta Ta and Cheerio or maybe
I should say G'day
Sheron in Nawth Carolinah
PS I also might be temporarily insane
from too much raku smoke and
sunshine today.
:) (wunnerful wunnerful workshop=21=21)
(have to say that one like Lawrence Welk)
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