Spaces, Fullstops, Etcetera 2

[Dimandja]

I recently created text to be inserted in a client's website. After the end of a sentence, I space over twice or thrice before starting the next sentence.

My client revised the text by eliminating "extraneous spaces" and only keeping one space between sentences.

How many spaces should follow a period (fullstop)?

While you're at it, do you write etc... or simply etc?

By the way, isn't it annoying when someone posts a lengthy message that consists of a single thick paragraph of several dozen lines? Every day I get at least a couple of emails that fit the description; and I have to decide whether to dive into it.

 

[SantaMufasa]

John, using "and all the rest" as the English translation of "et alia" certainly accurately conveys the meaning. "ali-" is simply the Latin prefix meaning "other":

alias = another time
alibi = another place
alienigenus = from another place
alienus = another man's, other people's
aliqua = another way, somehow
aliquis = any, another person
alius = another

Cheers,




Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)

http://www.dasages.com

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[ESquared]

I see no reason that et cetera cannot in most cases be translated as or used interchangeably with and so forth.

 

[SantaMufasa]

Correct, Erik..."and so forth" meaning "continuing forth as such". Therefore, to properly use "et cetera", one must disclose (prior to "et cetera") enough members of the set for the reader to intuitively recognise the pattern.

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)

http://www.dasages.com

Do you use Oracle and live or work in Utah, USA?
Then click here to join Utah Oracle Users Group on Tek-Tips.

 

[tsdragon]

However, I was taught that when listing persons it was more appropriate to use "et al".


Tracy Dryden

Meddle not in the affairs of dragons,
For you are crunchy, and good with mustard.

 

[SantaMufasa]

Tracy, that would be correct...I believe it is more polite to refer to additional people as "and others" rather than "and so forth".

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)

http://www.dasages.com

Do you use Oracle and live or work in Utah, USA?
Then click here to join Utah Oracle Users Group on Tek-Tips.

 

[ggauthier]

On the original topic of spaces after a period; in the late 1980's an editor told me to use two if I was using a typewriter, and one if I was using a computer.

Right or wrong I have followed it ever since, and no one has complained about my spacing.

-glenn

 

[Volk359]

Academic usage descriptivists tend to support the notion that a single space after a full stop should be considered standard because of the growing common usage by non-experts.

So "ain't" is considered a proper word?

 

[sleipnir214]

Actually, there are some experts who say that "ain't" is acceptible if used correctly. This article at yourdictionary.com opines that there is no contraction to express "I am not" in English aside from the Scottish English contraction "amn't". So if you use "ain't" exclusively in the first-person present tense, it is acceptible.


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[earthandfire]

I would disagree.

The apostrophe implies a contraction. If it is not a contraction of am not and/or an alternative contraction to aren't or isn't then what is it a contraction of? Is it a contraction of anything?

If it is not a contraction of anything, we do not need the apostrophe and then we should add the word to the English language (apostrophe free) as a synonym for am/are/is not.

 

[Volk359]

Hmm... I can see grammar teachers' eyes rolling around the world. I guess my argument would be to not contract the negative verb but to contract the verb and the noun to "I'm". Perhaps I read it wrong but “I ain’t going to the store” doesn’t sound very proper to me. (my spell checker didn’t like it either) My wife is a linguist and it'd be interesting to get her take on the article.

My comment was a bit tongue in cheek but what about ya'll, you-ins, use to could, etc. My point being just because a large number of people are doing something improper (typing, grammar, pronunciation, whatever) doesn't mean it becomes proper form by popular usage in fact if said large number of people were a bit more educated they would have better grammar, pronunciation, etc.

 

[Stella740pl]

Apostrophe substitutes for the missing letter "o" in "not".

And if anything, "ain't" is not any worth a contraction of "am not" then "won't" a contraction of "will not" and "would not".

As for acceptability... I don't know, I am no expert. (I was tempted to write "I ain't no expert.")

 

[SantaMufasa]

Main Entry: ain't
Pronunciation: 'Ant
Etymology: contraction of are not
1 : am not : are not : is not
2 : have not : has not
3 : do not : does not : did not -- used in some varieties of Black English
usage Although widely disapproved as nonstandard and more common in the habitual speech of the less educated, ain't in senses 1 and 2 is flourishing in American English. It is used in both speech and writing to catch attention and to gain emphasis <the wackiness of movies, once so deliciously amusing, ain't funny anymore -- Richard Schickel> <I am telling you--there ain't going to be any blackmail -- R. M. Nixon>. It is used especially in journalistic prose as part of a consistently informal style <the creative process ain't easy -- Mike Royko>. This informal ain't is commonly distinguished from habitual ain't by its frequent occurrence in fixed constructions and phrases <well--class it ain't -- Cleveland Amory> <for money? say it ain't so, Jimmy! -- Andy Rooney> <you ain't seen nothing yet> <that ain't hay> <two out of three ain't bad> <if it ain't broke, don't fix it>. In fiction ain't is used for purposes of characterization; in familiar correspondence it tends to be the mark of a warm personal friendship. It is also used for metrical reasons in popular songs <Ain't She Sweet> <It Ain't Necessarily So>. Our evidence shows British use to be much the same as American.

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)

http://www.dasages.com

Do you use Oracle and live or work in Utah, USA?
Then click here to join Utah Oracle Users Group on Tek-Tips.

 

[stormbind]

Rules that I am prone to breaking:

etcetera
&c.

sentence
Only one space required. This helps me because I am a lazy typist, and lazy reader

full stops
Full stops always combine. An etcetra at the in the middle, or the end of a sentence, always looks like &c.

----------
Memoria mihi benigna erit qui eam perscribam

 

[SilentAiche]

When I was growing up, saying "ain't" was as natural as breathing (being Southern, by the Grace of God and all that). However, I don't think it is a normal contraction since it has several meanings:

[blue]That car ain't brown, it's tan.[/blue] (is not)

[blue]I ain't ever seen her before today, I swear![/blue] (have not)

[blue]I ain't going, dang it![/blue] (am not)

I learned quickly when I entered college that I had to make two immediate changes: I needed to cut my hair shorter (and it wasn't even all that long), and I had to quit saying "ain't" since it sounded so damn hillbilly. I managed to do both.

By the way, there is "South" and then there is "Deep South," when it comes to American English. There are Southern folks whose accents even I don't comprehend.

I ain't lying.

Tim



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[UniqueFD]

As for acceptability... I don't know, I am no expert. (I was tempted to write "I ain't no expert.")

So, where does the "...ain't no..." fit into this?

You can get away with saying, for instance, "It ain't no picnic" and the no emphasises the negative, but you can't get away with saying "It ain't not raining" - sounds gibberish.

I ain't ever seen her before today, I swear!

Could this even be, "I ain't never seen her before today, I swear!"?


Tony
___________________________________________________
Reckless words pierce like a sword,
but the tongue of the wise brings healing (Solomon)

 

[SilentAiche]

Tony,

Dang, you caught me.

My first construction indeed used "never" instead of "ever;" however, I thought it complicated the "have not" meaning (with the double negative) and decided, in this example, to use the lesser used "ever."

Cain't get nuthin' over on this group!

Tim

[blue]_____________________________________________________
If you need immediate assistance, please raise your hand.
If you are outside of Raleigh, raise your hand and say[/blue] [red]Ooh! Ooh![/red]