kh (01/10/83)
Dictionaries record common usage. If they give "bimonthly" and "semimonthly" as synonyms, then they are often used as such. The only "biweekly" newspaper I ever saw was published twice a week. The word "biweekly" can be looked at two ways: (biweek)-ly or bi-(weekly). It can be once every two weeks or twice a week. If you're arguing that a combination of a Greek prefix with an Anglo-Saxon root can only be parsed one unambiguous way, then why is there a distinction between "biannual" and "biennial"? "Careful usage" means the way that is more commonly accepted by educated people, and often what has traditionally been accepted. Usage changes, however, and often the same word is used for several different meanings. Originally, using "biweekly" to mean twice a week was an error; so was using "brothers" as the plural of "brother" instead of "brethren". Someday "childs" may be the plural of "child", but universal literacy slows down the change of language. English derives considerable power from its ability to use words in loose ways and the ease which you can coin new words and phrases, or new usage for old words. Shakespeare didn't hesitate to make up a few words when none were appropriate (or at least his is the first recorded use of several words). And where would we be if Lewis Carroll didn't invent "chortle" or "burble"? Kenny Hirsch duke!unc!kh kh.unc@UDel-Relay Chapel Hill, N.C.
mmt (01/11/83)
Lewis Carroll didn't invent ``burble''. I thought he might have, since so many of the Jabberwocky words are his, but it turns out to be as old as Modern English, at least. (OED). I haven't looked up ``chortle'', but I hope he did invent that one. It's a "just right" word. Martin Taylor