atw: Re: Is 'GIF format' a pleonasm?
- From: "Peter Bloxsom" <peter@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 24 Nov 2005 00:20:27 +1000
Well, Jessica, of course that was a tongue-in-cheek piece of fastidiousness.
There's an old objection to "very" with a passive participle, which
"entertained" is here, really. Some such participles, for example "tired" and
"surprised", have acquired the status of adjectives: "very surprised" is
normal. Others, like "equipped" or "qualified" or, debatably, "entertained",
still seem more comfortable with "very well" or "highly" or some other
intensifier than they do with "very".
This point is explained under "Usage" in my Collins English Dictionary entry
for "very" --"In strict usage..." I don't know if that's in the Australian
edition too. Usage in this regard seems to have changed in recent years: quite
a few passive participles have crossed the hazy line and are now commonly
treated as adjectives and intensified with "very". Two that come to mind are
"delighted" and "offended". But there are linguistic conservatives (prigs?) who
are very (much) opposed to the trend.
------------------------------------------
Peter Bloxsom
http://www.netpublish.net
peter@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
----- Original Message -----
From: Jessica Kloiber-Deane
To: austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Wednesday, November 23, 2005 6:58 PM
Subject: atw: Re: Is 'GIF format' a pleonasm?
Hello Peter.
Er, I did actually mean 'very entertained'. The terms 'very' and 'highly' are
both intensifiers. According to the Collins Australian Dictionary, 'very' is
used to add emphasis to adjectives that are able to be graded (e.g. very
entertained). Conversely, I agree that 'highly entertained' sounds better. ;-)
Thank you for your contribution!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Peter Bloxsom
Sent: Wednesday, 23 November 2005 3:37 PM
To: austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: atw: Re: Is 'GIF format' a pleonasm?
Hello, Jessica. Don't you mean highly entertained? ;-)
Yes, I suppose "GIF format" is technically a pleonasm (and "PDF format"
likewise). If we're fastidious enough, we can say "GIF file" and "PDF file"
instead of using the word "format".
Now I need to finish my BAS statement and then get some cash out of an ATM
machine -- if I can read the LCD display and remember my PIN number.
Some members of this list may be interested in The Prig Page (including tests
of grammatical priggery) at http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/5229/p_.htm.
------------------------------------------
Peter Bloxsom
http://www.netpublish.net
peter@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
----- Original Message -----
From: Jessica Kloiber-Deane
To: austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Wednesday, November 23, 2005 4:46 PM
Subject: atw: Is 'GIF format' a pleonasm?
Hello, I recently subscribed to austechwriter and thereafter I have been
silently amused by the degree of fastidiousness. I have been very entertained!
I have two questions: considering GIF is an acronym for Graphics
Interchange Format, is 'GIF format' a redundant phrase? If so, is the phrase
'JPEG format' technically correct?
Regards,
Jessica Kloiber-Deane.
jessica@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
www.elementpublishing.com.au
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