Re: [css3-images] comments on radial gradients

On Mar 14, 2012, at 3:07 PM, "Tab Atkins Jr." <jackalmage@gmail.com> wrote:

> On Wed, Mar 14, 2012 at 12:48 PM, L. David Baron <dbaron@dbaron.org> wrote:
>> In section 4.2.2 (Placing Color Stops),
>> http://dev.w3.org/csswg/css3-images/#radial-color-stops :
>> 
>>  Change axises -> axes
> 
> I am morally opposed to Latin-inspired irregular pluralization
> introduced a century ago, when the regular form is still clear
> English.
> 
> In other words, I'd like to assert editorial privilege over the
> spellings used in the document.

I don't think editorial privilege in a technical document should extend to intentionally misspelling English words. "Axises" is the correct spelling for the plural of the Axis deer, but not for the word you are wanting to pluralize. [1]

I can be morally opposed to people using the word "cherry" to be the singular form of "cherries", when really cherries (or "cherise", as it was spelled in Old Northern French) was already singular (just as "cheese", which ends with the same "z" sound is singular), and there plural should be "cherrieses" or "cherises" (as with "cheeses", but we don't say "one chee, two chees"). But if I use "cherises" in a recipe, it would be be seen as incorrect by every modern reader, and would only serve to confuse. "Pea" is another word like that. It comes from the earlier word "Pease", which was singular (and still survives in "pease pudding"). But around 1600 it was misinterpreted as plural, with "pea" as singular, and the rest is history. [2] Being morally opposed to how words ended up as they are in English doesn't matter. Every English word comes from some bastardization of an earlier or foreign word or phrase. Live with it. Misspellings reduce clarity in a document that exists to make things clear.

1. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/axis 
2. Interesting book I got this from: http://www.unfoldingoflanguage.com

Received on Thursday, 15 March 2012 03:23:46 UTC