[sdiy] (slightly OT?) Analog vs. Analogue - opinions needed

[Tom Farrand]

It seems to me that English differs enough between countries to be
confusing at times.  A "cotton wool bud" is what Americans generally
refer to as a "Q-Tip".  The name "Q-Tip" is the trade name of a
specific product whereas a "cotton wool bud" is more generic reference
to a plant and/or possibly animal byproduct.  A "cotton" (plant)
"wool" (hair of sheep - animal) "bud" (a small lateral or terminal
protuberance on the stem of a plant consisting of an undeveloped shoot
made up of rudimentary foliage leaves or floral leaves or both
overarching a growing point and often protected by specialized bud
scales or by a coating of resin or hairs or by both - plant) which is
all a bit confusing if you get my drift.  Cotton wool bud or Q-Tip?
To me, Q-Tip is easier to remember though less descriptive.  What was
it not called a "cotton bud"?

Getting pissed means quite different things I've found.  A pissed
American is a state of heightened anger.  A pissed Brit is one who has
had a bit too much to drink.  Very confusing.

"Analogue" is anything that is analogous or similar to something else,
where as "analog" is of, relating to, or being the representation of
data by continuously variable physical quantities.  And by the way,
the etymology of "analogue" begins with a French origin, not English
or American.  "So, I fart in your general direction you silly English
person."

The OED might list "synthesiser" but the Merriam Webster dictionary
does not.  I'll stick with "synthesizer" (arrogant colonist bastard!).

"ZEE" or "ZED" as the 26th letter of the alphabet?  Well, "zed" has a
French origin (zede) which came from the Greek "zeta".  I will flip a
coin on that one.

As to "maths" being a contraction ... no it isn't!  A contraction will
have an apostrophe in place of the character or characters removed to
shorten the word.  If that were not true, guess what the contracted
form of "firetruck" might be.  A proper contraction for "cannot" is
"can't".

However, when it comes to speaking ... many Americans speak as if they
are retarded.  But maybe not so much as a Cockney accent which to an
American, can be indecipherable.  Throw in some bits of rhyming slang
and the yanks are utterly lost.


So there you have a definitive answer!  Oh wait, what was the freakin'
the question again?


On a more serious note...
On the eve of our Independence Day I wish all my fellow Americans a
happy and safe holiday!  And to my British friends, I remind them that
Americans were once the "insurgents" and "terrorists" in a little tiff
we have a couple of hundred years ago over some taxation
disagreements.  Americans, when on the offensive, are quick to label
those who oppose its will as "terrorists" or other unsavory labels.
But when we were the terrorists and insurgents, we regarded ourselves
as defenders of rights, patriots, and all things heroic.  Are
Americans really that arrogant?  Yes, we are.  Then again, American
General and first president George Washington did not torture British
POWs as the British did to American POWs.  We took the moral high
ground and declared torture as barbaric and unconscionable.  Today, we
have devolved about 300 years and are the barbarians we rose above, so
long ago.  Think about this: Iran (declared a member of the "axis of
evil" by a former US president) guarantees heath care to its citizens
by constitutional law.  Whereas the power brokers of the U.S. thinks
health care is a perk reserved only for the aristocracy.  This is
America 2.0.  Happy birthday America.  You are very sick.  As to
lingual differences ... fun to poke at but I really don't give a damn.

Tom Farrand
(An old guy that remembers when America really was something to be
proud of.  Today ... not so much.)



On Fri, Jul 3, 2009 at 6:44 PM, Graham Atkins <gatkins at blueyonder.co.uk> wrote:
>
> English language should be...well....English !
>
> That means ANALOGUE
>
> and SYNTHESISER.......with an ESS, not a ZEE (Zed, sorry)
>
> D'oh
>
> Graham
>
> On 3 Jul 2009, at 22:05, Tim Parkhurst wrote:
>
>> On Fri, Jul 3, 2009 at 5:56 AM, Justin Owen<juzowen at googlemail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> Hello all,
>>>
>>> Here goes... is Analog vs. Analogue (when used to describe instruments and effects) just a case of US vs. UK spelling or is there a more compelling reason to choose one over the other?
>>>
>>
>> As a "US American," I think it should be determined by size. After
>> all, who's is bigger?
>>
>> I'm referring of course to the US based company, Analog Devices. If
>> there's a larger company out there that uses "Analogue" in their name,
>> I'll acquiesce and give the Brits the win.
>>
>> ;-)
>>
>> Of course, in the end I think you should spell it however you damn
>> well please, as both spellings are accepted as correct.
>>
>>
>> Tim (gets extra points for using "acquiesce" in a sentence) Servo
>> --
>> "Sire, the church of God is an anvil that has worn out many hammers."
>> - H.L. Hastings
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