Friday's English Language Lesson #7***
Jul. 16th, 2004 03:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ajvaI was thinking earlier today about ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
jhg's little intervention last week, when he defiantly insisted I had made a typo, on the somewhat imperialistic grounds that American spellings of words are de facto incorrect.
It rather put me in mind of the time his mother - a teacher - asked us both if we knew the difference between the words "license" and "licence".
"Yes of course," shoots backjhg: "the '-se' ending is the American version."
This seems to be something of an obsession for Mr. Griffin, but unfortunately in this case he was not quite correct.
The truth of the matter is that the difference is exactly the same as with the words "practise" and "practice" viz. the former is a verb, and the latter a noun. So one may license someone to do something, and give them a licence for it.
There may be some remaining confusion over the word licensee, since this is a noun. However, astute readers will notice that the noun derives from the verb i.e. a licensee is someone who is licensed. Hence the spelling.
Hmmm. This is reminding me that I must asklolliepopp if our TV licence is up to date.
jhg's little intervention last week, when he defiantly insisted I had made a typo, on the somewhat imperialistic grounds that American spellings of words are de facto incorrect.It rather put me in mind of the time his mother - a teacher - asked us both if we knew the difference between the words "license" and "licence".
"Yes of course," shoots back
jhg: "the '-se' ending is the American version."This seems to be something of an obsession for Mr. Griffin, but unfortunately in this case he was not quite correct.
The truth of the matter is that the difference is exactly the same as with the words "practise" and "practice" viz. the former is a verb, and the latter a noun. So one may license someone to do something, and give them a licence for it.
There may be some remaining confusion over the word licensee, since this is a noun. However, astute readers will notice that the noun derives from the verb i.e. a licensee is someone who is licensed. Hence the spelling.
Hmmm. This is reminding me that I must ask
lolliepopp if our TV licence is up to date.
no subject
Date: 2004-07-16 07:46 am (UTC)*Bugger*. I thought that being at IC would enable me to get at the OED again, but apparently not, or I need a password, or something. [growls]
no subject
Date: 2004-07-16 07:48 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-07-16 07:54 am (UTC)I have further discovered that this appalling excuse for a university does not have *any* sort of subscription to the OED at all. Bloody scientists.
no subject
Date: 2004-07-16 07:57 am (UTC)