Comments on: Where Experience Comes From

By: John

John — Sat, 30 May 2009 11:55:43 +0000

I fully realize I am entering this conversation a little late. However, since Simón Bolívar was the individual being quoted, and Simón Bolívar was from Spanish America in the early 19th century, if Simón Bolívar knew English, my guess (though possibly incorrect) is that the odds are he would have learned the British version, as opposed to the American version. In that instance, the British version would be the correct one. To use the American version would be an insult to Simón Bolívar’s ghost (or possibly his undead corpse.)

If Simón Bolívar didn’t know English, Blair was actually quoting Simón Bolívar’s translator. Out of respect for the translator, she (or he) should be quoted in the language it (or they) used. Which if I had to guess, is what Blair did, by copying and pasting the quote from somewhere else on the internet.

Changing the spelling to Americanese when borrowing someone else’s writing is the height of American rudeness, and any journalist who did so, should be shot, or at least fined. As a writer, if some bloody Brit changed my spelling for their publication, I would sue for copyright infringement, as they would be creating a ‘derivation’ of my work without my consent. (Quoting a few lines of text from a larger work is fair use, but a derivation is not.)

Of course, if the British translation was done while Simón Bolívar was alive, it has fully entered the public domain by now, and you can do whatever you please to it, including translating it into the Spanish version of Pig Latin. But there is certainly nothing incorrect about reprinting the words exactly as they were originally written.

So Blair, you were right, Dave was wrong, and you have my support.

As you were.

By: AJ

AJ — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 13:00:16 +0000

Do either of you want to write proposals? My company could surely use someone who truly cares whether to place an E between the G and M in “judgment”. (You should see some of the stuff we get from our writers. It’s enough to make you howl in horror or laughter or both).

By: Blair

Blair — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 18:54:01 +0000

And as the Rolling Stones say, “You can’t always get what you want.” So I guess everyone gets a lot of experience.

By: HERBERT!(c)

HERBERT!(c) — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 10:44:39 +0000

I rather like what Randy Pausch says in The Last Lecture:

“Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted.”

By: Dave Learn

Dave Learn — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 21:13:06 +0000

Clearly. Because anyone professional would have known better than to spell judgment with an E between the G and M.

By: Blair

Blair — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 04:44:41 +0000

Any editor who mistakes Dividing by Zero for a “professional context” is fully deserving of the loss of professional standing and outright derision that will doubtless result.

By: Dave Learn

Dave Learn — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 00:28:41 +0000

I never said that you had spelt it incorrectly, merely that you were not following the ASE spelling, in case you were unaware.

If you check in a dictionary, you will find that “judgment” is listed first, followed by “judgement.” This ranking denotes that “judgment” is the preferred spelling, or, as editors will point out, in a professional context it is the “more correct” spelling and therefore the only acceptable one.

By: Blair

Blair — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 23:44:56 +0000

Probably far more interesting if I call him while driving on the left side of the road. (Which seems to be the usual result of using a phone while driving).

By: Katie

Katie — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 19:05:58 +0000

While you are in the WC?

By: Blair

Blair — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 04:29:18 +0000

Both spellings are correct. The spelling I used turns out to be British English.

Perhaps at some point in the future, just to tweak you a bit more, I’ll use the British spelling of colour and start fueling my car with petrol. Heck, maybe at some point I’ll even call you from my mobile.