I don't generally post whilst annoyed — which could explain why my postings are generally of a whimsical nature and (hint hint) don't get enough comments. However, this post is different.
I am angry that people see fit to write things for public consumption or wide dissemination when they obviously have little regard for the language in which they are writing. As a general principle, if you don't know the right spelling, punctuation or grammar, ask someone who does know!
People who don't know where apostrophes belong: this means you!
Another hint: the word "momentary" does not mean, "in a moment". It means "for a moment". Big difference. If "the power will resume momentarily", I'm going to unplug my delicate electronics. If it will resume shortly I will cheer and lo! there will be great rejoicing.
Hi,
Both senses of "momentarily" are listed in
Webster’s. Please see this entry on Language Log.
Ethan
Thanks for the information, Ethan. It seems to me that having two contradictory meanings devalues the word. I'll try to make sure I only use it when the meaning is obvious.
Using 'momentarily' in that context is, however, at the very least an americanism - and as such is incorrect in (at least British) English usage. An American dictionary such as Websters would probably list both options; the OED lists it as a fourth possible meaning, and specifies that it is only used in such a way in North America. Dr. Johnson only gave one meaning in his dictionary - 'for a moment'.
The other one that annoys me is Americans using 'alternate' when they mean 'alternative' - the two words have entirely different meanings.
He he he… Isn't it a little ironic that you have a spelling error in a post in which you complain specifically about spelling errors? ;-) Add to that the fact that the error is exactly in the word you complain about, and the irony gets even bigger. :-) (last paragraph, look for "momentary")
[ Or, maybe I'm just not in on the joke, and this is intentional… ]
The words 'momentary' and 'momentarily' are related, but neither is misspelled. I could have made my rant clearer, I admit, but then it wouldn't have had all the characteristics of a rant.
ads: I don't think "for a moment" and "in a moment" are contradictory, per se — both are adverb forms of "moment" and can (in my opinion) justifiably mean either of those. I think it’s legitimate to say "I don't like to use the word momentarily to mean 'in a moment', because the word comes from momentary which unambiguously means 'the duration of a moment', so it sounds weird", but I don't think flagging it as an error is OK.
Andrew: Then if someone uses the word in this way, you have to at least consider that they might be using an Americanism (especially one they might have picked up anywhere on the Internet) rather than demonstrating an ignorance of the English language. You might say there’s no difference but I think that’s another argument. :)
Ethan
The OED actually lists two definitions which fit the ’shortly' definition of momentary, albeit marked 'rare' and 'chiefly n. amer'. It’s also entirely possible that the person using it was intending to be writing in American rather than English.
Having said that, I'm also annoyed by people who can't spell, punctuate or use the correct words. Particularly those who should know better. (I'm looking at 'b4' and 'u' here for things which really get me annoyed).
Well, if I'm annoyed be these I just have to think about these comics to cheer me up again:
http://www.angryflower.com/bobsqu.gif
http://www.queenofwands.net/d/20050321.html
http://www.queenofwands.net/d/20031003.html
http://www.queenofwands.net/d/20051023.html
My point re Americanisms was merely that while it is an Americanism it is still not a correct usage of the word in canonical English. In England saying something would happen momentarily should be giving across only one meaning - the two meanings are contradictory; their meanings are sufficently different that if you accept both as options it would be almost better to use a different word. If someone asked if he could interrupt you momentarily then that would mean the difference between a quick question and a long lecture. There are many cases of words that do have multiple meanings - but I can think of few that have meanings that cannot be differentiated from the context.
Matt: Using "b4" and "u" seems to come from a selfish view of the time involved in dealing with a piece of text. Yes, they speed things up for the writer, saving them a matter of seconds; however, each reader loses time in decoding what was meant. Once you get enough readers, no amount of saving time writing saves time overall.
Generally, these writers are selfish enough to assume that people will take time to read and comprehend their post; in practice, they forget that if it’s too much work to understand what’s being said, the easy option is to ignore them. This is especially true when you're asking for help; if I can't work out what your problem is, it’s far easier to ignore you than it is to ask for more details.
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