Re: [OT] Yet Another Language Issue (wa: imap with claws mail problem)
On Tue, 11 Oct 2011 09:58:58 -0700, Al Eridani wrote:
> On Tue, Oct 11, 2011 at 9:09 AM, Camaleón <noelamac@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> "Pasao" is not a valid word in Spanish
>
> Absolutely correct.
No, it's not.
If you think it is, please send any authoritative reference that points
to that direction.
>> (you won't find that term
>> registered in the RAE dictionary which is nowadays the maximum
>> authority that regulates the Spanish language). And Spanish language is
>> very strict with its rules and norms.
>>
>> OTOH, I've found some references to the word "dunno" in English
>> dictionaries (e.g., Oxford's, Cambridge Advanced's, Thesaurus's...) so
>> you can say its usage can sound "rare" or "strange" but incorrect?
>
> The "DRAE" is prescriptive.
Yes, that's what I said.
> All the English language dictionaries are merely descriptive, as there
> is no "de jure" or "de facto" prescriptive body for the English
> language, unlike the bodies for the Spanish or French languages.
And so the validity of "dunno" which does not mean it was the most
appropiate term but I already explained why I use that style when posting
here (that is, you will not see me to write "dunno" on business writings).
> Therefore, the presence of an entry in an English language dictionary is
> orthogonal to its correctness, which, for practical purposes, is a very
> slippery concept regarding the English language, anyway.
You can't like the usage of a term in a phrase and you could have choosen
another one, that's fine, but you can't say is "incorrect". As you say,
it's a matter of taste. But this is not valid for Spanish. If you say a
word that is no currently available at the RAE's dictonary, is not
correct, regardless you find it right or not because is not people who
makes the rules but academics.
> When somebody gently chided you for using "dunno" and you seemed
> genuinely interested in finding out the reason, I tried to help you by
> pointing to "pasao", as I assumed that you would be more familiar with
> it and that you could make the mental leap from one to the other.
Sorry, but it wasn't a good example.
Greetings,
--
Camaleón
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