gage or gauge? 1

[MikeBarone]

Which spelling do you prefer to use and why?

Gage or Gauge?

An example use of the word in the context I am referring to: "I need the statistics completed by noon so I can adequetly gauge the effectiveness of the survey prior to the meeting."

Mike Barone

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[sleipnir214]

The online dictionaries I've checked seem to all list gauge as the primary spelling in that context.

gage exists as a verb, but its primary dictionary entries show a meaning of to pledge or to stake or risk. It is secondarily associated with gauge.



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[CajunCenturion]

Etymologically speaking, gauge is preferable as it has retained its meaning through its evolution.

Gage, on the other hand, did not become a variant of gauge until quite recently. Its roots are of a completely different word.

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[MikeBarone]

Perfect CajunCenturion!

You captured the very essence of why I choose to use the gauge spelling over gage.

I am not a fan of creating words simply because people do not know how to use proper vocabulary (e.g. the evolution of ain't and irregardless being added to the dictionary).

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[CajunCenturion]

sleipnir214 were posting at the same time, and it appears that he and I are on the same track. He goes so far as to identify the original meaning of gage.

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[wuneyej]

MikeBarone

I totally agree with you when it comes to irregardless, but ain't is a different story. To me, ain't is more than the Uneducated's way of saying "am not" or "isn't".

Yes, it is those things, but there are times when I'll say something like He ain't got it to express my opinion of a baseball pitcher's performance. Believe me, I've had enough schooling to know proper English would be he doesn't have it, but it just doesn't communicate as much feeling. You know what I mean? Or am I nuts?

So no, I'd never write ain't in an essay or use it in a formal conversation, but because there are times when its usage lends to a more accurate translation of feeling, I think it has earned an entry in the dictionary.

Just my opinion of course.

As far a gage versus gauge...I use gauge.

 

[Zathras]

As for "ain't" -- I believe that has a legitimate usage in some American dialects serving a similar purpose to "n'est pas" in French and "Eh" in Canadian. The usage would be something like "Nice day, ain't?"

But because the areas of the country where that is used are considered, shall we say somehow less advanced than more populous areas, the usage is generally frowned upon today.

 

[Dimandja]

>"n'est pas" in French

You mean "n'est-ce pas", right? There's an academie for this sort of thing, you know...

 

[MikeBarone]

wuneyej,

Yes, I see a place for it in slang. But it should be left out in formal conversation and any writing material (IMO).

I found this text on dictionary.com (read the history, it is fascinating):

ain't ( P ) Pronunciation Key (nt)
Nonstandard

Contraction of am not. Used also as a contraction for are not, is not, has not, and have not.

Usage Note: Ain't has a long history of controversy. It first appeared in 1778, evolving from an earlier an't, which arose almost a century earlier as a contraction of are not and am not. In fact, ain't arose at the tail end of an era that saw the introduction of a number of our most common contractions, including don't and won't. But while don't and won't eventually became accepted at all levels of speech and writing, ain't was to receive a barrage of criticism in the 19th century for having no set sequence of words from which it can be contracted and for being a “vulgarism,” that is, a term used by the lower classes, although an't at least had been originally used by the upper classes as well. At the same time ain't's uses were multiplying to include has not, have not, and is not, by influence of forms like ha'n't and i'n't. It may be that these extended uses helped fuel the negative reaction. Whatever the case, criticism of ain't by usage commentators and teachers has not subsided, and the use of ain't is often regarded as a sign of ignorance. ·But despite all the attempts to ban it, ain't continues to enjoy extensive use in speech. Even educated and upper-class speakers see no substitute in folksy expressions such as Say it ain't so and You ain't seen nothin' yet. ·The stigmatization of ain't leaves us with no happy alternative for use in first-person questions. The widely used aren't I? though illogical, was found acceptable for use in speech by a majority of the Usage Panel in an earlier survey, but in writing there is no acceptable substitute for the stilted am I not?

Mike Barone

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[wuneyej]

MikeBarone

That was interesting read, thanks for that.

 

[Zathras]

Mike, thanks for the post.

Dimandja, pardon my french

 

[sleipnir214]

To weigh in on ain't:

Article at yourdictionary.com titled "Ain't Isn't a Four-Letter Word"


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[grnzbra]

Ok, all you language gurus, how come is it that people seem to be so fond of using "myself" when they should be using "me", particularly in compounds such as, "The suspect was escorted to the station by officer Jones and myself."?

 

[Stella740pl]

grnzbra, Look here: thread1256-940319 .