Re: Fwd: origin of term caron

From: Rick McGowan (rick@unicode.org)
Date: Wed Oct 24 2001 - 19:26:38 EDT


James Naughton wrote...

>The most authoritative-sounding page on the web which I could find when I
>was investigating this was an article on diacritics by J. C. Wells,
>University College, London:
>http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/wells/dia/diacritics-revised.htm
>
>He writes:
>
>"The term 'caron', however, is wrapped in mystery. Incredibly, it seems to
>appear in no current dictionary of English, not even the OED. Yet it is the
>term used without discussion for this diacritic in as authoritative and
>influential a source as The Unicode Standard (1991, 2000)."
>
>Do anybody have any better ideas?
>

Oh, Joy! An invitation to write the screen play!

                        How These Things Get Started, Chapter Two

        Scene: The tiny cramped office of General Frump, commander
        of an obscure military base somewhere north of the 89th
        parallel... Everyone and their baby fur seal is suffering
        from walking pneumonia and dysentary...

        General Frump: Thank you for your report on the enemy code,
        Corporal, is there anything else? I'm quite busy...

        Corporal Dolt: Well, sir, there's the matter of the "hacek",
        which some thought might be confused with "hatchet", sir.
        But as you know, sir, there simply is no other term, and I
        thought, perhaps...

        General Frump (eyes glazed): Carry -- ahem -- on, Corporal.
        Ahem. Carry -- ahem -- on.

        Corporal Dolt (saluting): Very well, sir. "Caron" it is.

        General Frump: Ahem... Dismissed, Corporal...

That's my theory.

        Rick



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