On Nov 24, 2013, at 6:15 AM, Andrew Haley <aph@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > On 11/23/2013 03:55 PM, Chris Murphy wrote: >> >> On Nov 23, 2013, at 3:47 AM, Andrew Haley <aph@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote: >> >>> On 11/22/2013 09:44 PM, Chris Murphy wrote: >>> >>>> Nope, you're wrong. Find a copy of New Oxford American Dictionary >>>> and look up the words and usage. I seriously doubt even Oxford >>>> English makes such a big distinction between two words that share >>>> the same etymology and have no good reason for meaning different >>>> things. >>> >>> I doubt it. Fowler is pretty definite: >>> >>> "Alternative (offering a choice) had formerly also the sense now >>> belonging only to alternate (by turns); now that the differentiation >>> is complete, confusion is even less excusable than between definite >>> and definitive." >> >> Sounds like someone at Fowler has a bone to pick, but they've gone >> out too far on a limb. There is a clear differentiation between >> definite and definitive that most anyone can easily understand, yet >> they're proposing there's an even greater distinction between >> alternate and alternative that no one would care about. > > Well, Fowler's Modern English Usage is Oxford Dictionaries' reference > work on English usage, so I can say without any reasonable fear of > successful contradiction that when you "seriously doubt even > Oxford English makes such a big distinction" you surely are wrong. You're late to the party, it's already been brought up, so I really don't see your point at all. https://lists.fedoraproject.org/pipermail/users/2013-November/442622.html In any case the usage section here clarifies: http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/alternative?q=alternative And even for alternate, whose 2nd definition for the adjective form equates to alternative, chiefly meaning not exclusively. So you can complain all you want about a silly distinction being blurred all you want. The relevant dictionaries have certified actual usage and the fact that arguing about it is a lost cause. And keep in mind the suggestion isn't that the two words are always interchangeable, merely in the context of being "available as another choice". Chris Murphy -- users mailing list users@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx To unsubscribe or change subscription options: https://admin.fedoraproject.org/mailman/listinfo/users Fedora Code of Conduct: http://fedoraproject.org/code-of-conduct Guidelines: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Mailing_list_guidelines Have a question? Ask away: http://ask.fedoraproject.org
