Re: off topic: Re: Unicode in source code. WHY?

From: A. Vine (avine@eng.sun.com)
Date: Tue Jul 20 1999 - 15:59:16 EDT


Scott Horne wrote:
>
> > Unaccented spellings of these and many many other words borrowed from other
> > Latin alphabet based languages are perfectly correct in English.
>
> Permissive dictionaries unwisely tolerate the omission of accent marks
> in those words.
>
> > English speakers do not have accents as part of their native alphabet.
>
> Accent marks are not part of the alphabet in French, either, since
> they're not letters.
>
> English certainly does use accent marks in native words: _belovèd_,
> for example.
>

Dictionary authorities (not just Webster's) do not agree with you, nor do I or
any of the native English speakers I encounter.

Feel free to spell at will, but not including the accents is as correct as
including them.

You can try to be prescriptivist with living languages, but they will continue
to evolve.

Andrea

-- 
Andrea Vine
Sun Internet Mail Server i18n architect
avine@eng.sun.com
Romanes eunt domus.



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