Belly  +  375239 Tue, 05 Jun 07 08:25 AM What's the differences between : "properly speaking", "practically speaking" and "strictly speaking"? Belly Joined on Mon, Feb 19 2007 Regular Member 630

	Yankee  +  375336 Tue, 05 Jun 07 02:42 PM Hi Belly "Practically speaking" can mean that you're speaking about what is practical, or what is actually possible in practice rather than only theoretically possible. "Strictly speaking" usually means that the speaker is talking about things as they are or should be according to some sort of rule(s). "Properly speaking" doesn't sound like a standard collocation to me. Yankee Joined on Sat, Apr 15 2006 Connecticut, USA Veteran Member 6,505 Amy "You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus." - Mark Twain

	Yankee  +  375410 Tue, 05 Jun 07 04:42 PM Hi Belly I'm aware that the expression "properly speaking" appears in some dictionaries (meaning "in actual fact"), but since I don't use this expression at all, I can't really elaborate any further on it.  Maybe someone else (who actually uses this expression) will post something. Yankee

	Clive  +  451092 Sat, 08 Dec 07 08:21 PM Hi, In general terms, 'properly speaking' means 'speaking correctly'. eg Tom is my pal at work but, properly speaking, he's my supervisor. eg We think of North America as an English-speaking continent but, properly speaking, it also includes Mexico. Best wishes,Clive Clive Joined on Thu, Oct 28 2004 Canada Veteran Member 29,661 El tango argentino es un pensamiento triste que se puede bailar (The tango argentino is a sad thought which can be danced) Enrique Santos Discépolo