atw: Re: Round-table? [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]
- From: Howard.Silcock@xxxxxxxxxxx
- To: austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 25 Jan 2008 10:20:53 +1100
Hi Deborah
I'm not sure which version you think looks wrong, but to me 'round-table
discussion' looks OK but 'round-table' on its own looks weird. I think
when you use it on its own it must be a noun (or strictly a noun phrase),
so I'd go with the dictionary and make it 'round table'.
I agree with you that the phrase is really used as a substitute for
'round-table discussion', but instead of thinking of it as a phrase with a
missing word you could think of it as an example of the rhetorical term
'metonymy', where you substitute one word for another which it suggests or
a part for the whole - standard examples are 'the White House' meaning the
President, or 'the Crown' meaning the Queen, - indeed you could probably
add (one that most Canberrans would probably loathe) 'Canberra' meaning
the Federal Government.
Howard
"Deborah Cross" <Deborah.Cross@xxxxxxxxxx>
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atw: Round-table? [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED]
Greetings All,
I'm struggling with the term: round-table.
Our style guide says we adhere to the Australian Oxford Dictionary. My
interpretation of the entry for round-table is that the noun is round
table, but the adjective is round-table. Can anyone confirm?
It just looks wrong to me. Can round table really be a noun anyway?
Isn't it always an adjective and people using it as a noun are just
trying to short cut the complete phrase round-table discussion?
Would be lovely if it was always just one word: roundtable. Then I
wouldn't have to worry!
Please be gentle, I come from the generation that had no grammatical
instruction whatsoever.
Deborah :o)
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