My point is that we've not been consistent in applying or dropping the u. On Thu, Aug 15, 2013 at 4:17 PM, Barb <bjbecker@xxxxxxx> wrote: > My OED spells it with a u. It's a bit old but .... > Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network > ------------------------------ > *From: * Karen McElrea <karenmcelrea@xxxxxxxxxxx> > *Sender: * mea-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > *Date: *Thu, 15 Aug 2013 16:13:09 -0500 > *To: *mea@xxxxxxxxxxxxx<mea@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> > *ReplyTo: * mea@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > *Subject: *[mea] Re: "Honourary" Mahatma Gandhi Walkway at The Forks > > I fight for them, too. I just don't think that in one case we should > revert to a nineteenth-century spelling because a few people got it wrong > on a poll. > > > ------------------------------ > Subject: [mea] Re: "Honourary" Mahatma Gandhi Walkway at The Forks > To: mea@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > From: bjbecker@xxxxxxx > Date: Thu, 15 Aug 2013 21:01:55 +0000 > > I am not an American. I'll keep my 'u's ....:-) > > Barb > Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network > ------------------------------ > *From: * Karen McElrea <karenmcelrea@xxxxxxxxxxx> > *Sender: * mea-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > *Date: *Thu, 15 Aug 2013 15:33:20 -0500 > *To: *mea@xxxxxxxxxxxxx<mea@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> > *ReplyTo: * mea@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > *Subject: *[mea] Re: "Honourary" Mahatma Gandhi Walkway at The Forks > > Mmmmm... yellow jam... And what do they call gophers in those places? > > I wish I'd seen Katherine's presentation - I'd like to rescind a little of > my vitriol, then, knowing she was just outvoted on that one. But geez. > > And thanks for the vote on the sign, Cheri; I'm hounoured! > > > ------------------------------ > To: mea@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > Subject: [mea] Re: "Honourary" Mahatma Gandhi Walkway at The Forks > From: cheri.frazer@xxxxxxxxxx > Date: Thu, 15 Aug 2013 15:08:52 -0500 > > I wish we could bring Katherine back for another speech. She was > fascinating. She talked about how dictionaries used to be prescriptive but > then made the move to purely descriptive, capturing what's happening with > language as it evolves rather than trying to pin it down. If I remember > correctly she didn't like honourary either but was out-voted. One of the > funnier parts of her speech had to do with slang for doughnuts! She said > there are huge regional variations for the meanings of jam buster, Boston > creme, Bismark, jelly doughnut, and others I can't think of. A city > somewhere in Ontario refers to a Boston creme as a "yellow jam buster." Oh, > the horror. But it's not as bad as some regions of the US that call a > turtle a gopher and an elastic band a "gum band". People are goofy. > > I vote for Ye Olde Honourary Mahatma Gandhi Way! > > > > > From: Karen McElrea <karenmcelrea@xxxxxxxxxxx> To: "mea@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" < > mea@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Date: 2013-08-15 02:50 PM Subject: [mea] Re: > "Honourary" Mahatma Gandhi Walkway at The Forks Sent by: > mea-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > ------------------------------ > > > > They should have spelled it "honorary," though, I agree - it looks odd! > > Someone from Belfast writing on a forum on this question says that "the * > OED* mentions that 'honourary' was an alternative spelling in the > 18th/19th centuries." So maybe the sign should read "Ye Olde Honourary > Mahatma Gandhi Way." > > Public Works and Government Services Canada's Translation Bureau site > states that "In Canada, *honour* not *honor* is the preferred spelling > for the noun and the verb. Both *honorary* and *honourary* are widespread > in Canada [really?], although *honourary* is rarely used in the rest of > the world." > > But the real Canadian authority, Katherine Barber, says on her > *Wordlady*site, "A recent Facebook poll I conducted about the spelling of > this word > had 39 well-educated Canadians opting for "honourary" versus 22 for > 'honorary,' similar to the results we found when we conducted a survey for > the *Canadian Oxford Dictionary*, as a result of which it is possibly the > only dictionary of current English to include "honourary" as a spelling > variant." > > So popular vote rules our dictionary. In what field were these people > well-educated, exactly? Were the 22 also well-educated? Was such a small > sample also the basis for its inclusion in the dictionary? How would this > same group of people have answered the same question for "humourously"? > > ------------------------------ > To: mea@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > Subject: [mea] "Honourary" Mahatma Gandhi Walkway at The Forks > From: cheri.frazer@xxxxxxxxxx > Date: Thu, 15 Aug 2013 13:14:13 -0500 > > An Alert Reader (stole that term from Dave Barry!) has pointed out that > the new signs at The Forks spell honorary incorrectly. > > You can register your concern at 311@xxxxxxxxxxx and/or contact CTV News; > their crews were filming the signs today. Where are the Raging Grammarians > when you need them?! > > -C. > > > "PLEASE NOTE: The preceding information may be confidential or privileged. > It only should be used or disseminated for the purpose of conducting > business with Parker. If you are not an intended recipient, please notify > the sender by replying to this message and then delete the information from > your system. Thank you for your cooperation." > "PLEASE NOTE: The preceding information may be confidential or privileged. > It only should be used or disseminated for the purpose of conducting > business with Parker. If you are not an intended recipient, please notify > the sender by replying to this message and then delete the information from > your system. Thank you for your cooperation." > -- Byron Rempel-Burkholder