The Grammer Genious    871478 Tue, 06 Apr 04 01:39 AM "As MWCD11 puts it, in the usage note under the entry for "kilometer," "Those who object to second syllable stress ... of centimeter, millimeter, etc. However, the pronunciation of kilometer does not parallel that of other metric compounds."" And they're right, of course. Everybody I know pronounces "kilogram" as "kuh-LOG-rum". \\P. Schultz The Grammer Genious Pronunciation, Usages, Speaking

	Robert Bannister    871659 Tue, 06 Apr 04 02:59 AM "I don't criticise people who say 'kiLOmetre', but it is illogical." "What's "logical" about any pronunciation convention? It's all just a matter of custom, isn't it?" I would have found it easier to agree with you if you hadn't used the word 'convention'. I agree about 'custom', but not everyone has the same custom. This is where the CONtroversy/conTROVersy starts. Rob Bannister Robert Bannister Pronunciation, Speaking

	Robert Bannister    871662 Tue, 06 Apr 04 03:01 AM "dcw filted:" "I recently heard "nanOMetre" for the first time." "It's the one just larger than that that's the problem: "MICrometer" is a unit of distance; "miCROMeter" is a device ... orthography in a naturalized English term...if you disagree, I suggest you should be using the Greek alphabet for the prefixes..r" English spelling is mostly illogical, but it is quite traditional to retain a foreign spelling to differentiate meaning as we do with 'metre' (unit of measurement) and 'meter' (measuring device). Rob Bannister Robert Bannister Spelling, Prefixes, Countries, United Kingdom, Great Britain, Writing, Languages

	Raymond S. Wise    871720 Tue, 06 Apr 04 05:25 AM "dcw filted: It's the one just larger than that that's ... suggest you should be using the Greek alphabet for theprefixes..r" "English spelling is mostly illogical, but it is quite traditional to retain a foreign spelling to differentiate meaning as we do with 'metre' (unit of measurement) and 'meter' (measuring device). Rob Bannister" If, however, we had decided to spell "liter" as "litre" and "kilometer" as "kilometre," and so forth, that would have been a very big exception to the "logical spelling" reforms of Noah Webster and later American reformers. These reforms generally affected technical and scientific terms whose ultimate origin is Greek or Latin. That's why we have "ether" instead of "aether," "niter" instead of "nitre," and "edema" instead of "oedema." It seems to me that keeping this practice consistent is more important than distinguishing a measuring device from a unit of measurement (and I have personally never, as far as I can remember, encountered a situation in which the "-meter" spelling caused me any confusion whatsoever). Raymond S. Wise Minneapolis, Minnesota USA E-mail: mplsray @ yahoo . com Raymond S. Wise Spelling, Countries, United Kingdom, Great Britain, United States, American, Writing, Languages

	Evan Kirshenbaum    872129 Tue, 06 Apr 04 11:20 PM "I'd go with /'&t@,mit@r/ ("AT-uh-mee-tur"), except with a tap for the /t/ sounds, which would make it, in ASCII IPA, /'&*@,mi*@r/ ("AD-uh-mee-dur" is the closest that pronunciation spelling can come to representing that tap)," The flap (*) is not phonemic. It's a phonetic reflex of both /t/ and /d/, but it's perceived as one or the other, as evidenced by the minimal pair "writer" and "rider", both of which have (*) for (most of) those who have it at all. (The distinction is made based on the length of the preceding vowel, longer before /d/.) Evan Kirshenbaum + HP Laboratories >If the human brain were so simple 1501 Page Mill Road, 1U, MS 1141 >That we could understand it,Palo Alto, CA 94304 >We would be so simple (650)857-7572 http://www.kirshenbaum.net/ Evan Kirshenbaum Vowels, Spelling, Phonetics, Pronunciation, Speaking, Writing

	Geoff Butler    877017 Sun, 11 Apr 04 05:19 PM "That was very cool. I thought it was even more ... quite amazing how quickly things increase in increments of 10." "Don't forget the power of binary. How many times can you fold a piece of paper in half (without unfolding it at any stage)?" Only once. Second time, you're folding it in quarters. -ler Geoff Butler