Airports/Airspace

If you want to go stand in line with the people splitting hairs over
"biannual" versus "biennial"...

Actually, that's not a hair, that's a pretty fat rope. Confusing
multplication with division (except in cellular biology) is more in line
with that one.

Jose
--
Money: what you need when you run out of brains.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

"Jose" wrote in message
. ..
If you want to go stand in line with the people splitting hairs over
"biannual" versus "biennial"...

Actually, that's not a hair, that's a pretty fat rope. Confusing
multplication with division (except in cellular biology) is more in line
with that one.

Sorry, wrong answer. The dictionary definition of "biannual" allows for
both the "half" and "every two" interpretation.

If you want a language that has no such ambiguities, you'll have to abandon
English. Like it or not, there are a number of examples of words that can
be used with two or more entirely different meanings. "Biannual" is one of
them, and in one use it is synonymous with "biennial".

Pete

Sorry, wrong answer. The dictionary definition of "biannual" allows for
both the "half" and "every two" interpretation.

Then you need a new dictionary. Unlike "flammable" and "inflammable",
the use of "biannual" for "every two years" is incorrect. Perhaps if
enough people persist in mangling the language, it will become accepted
by the general educated populace with that meaning, but until that
happens, it just ain't right.

Jose
(yes, I know of "ain't"'s long history)
--
Money: what you need when you run out of brains.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

by Jose Mar 15, 2006 at 08:13 PM


Sorry, wrong answer. The dictionary definition of "biannual" allows for

both the "half" and "every two" interpretation.

Then you need a new dictionary. Unlike "flammable" and "inflammable",
the use of "biannual" for "every two years" is incorrect. Perhaps if
enough people persist in mangling the language, it will become accepted
by the general educated populace with that meaning, but until that
happens, it just ain't right.

Jose
(yes, I know of "ain't"'s long history)



Well, the definitions according to the American College Heritage
Dictionary are unambiguous. But, after checking the Rutgers.edu grammar
website (which the AOPA writers really should bookmark, and reference
often), there does seem to exist some confusion:


http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Writing/b.html

Interesting.....

"Jose" wrote in message
. net...
Sorry, wrong answer. The dictionary definition of "biannual" allows for
both the "half" and "every two" interpretation.

Then you need a new dictionary.

lol...

"If you don't like the answer, blame the reference."

Too bad Jose. You don't get to pick and choose my dictionary based on what
YOU think it ought to read.

[...] Perhaps if enough people persist in mangling the language, it will
become accepted by the general educated populace with that meaning

For better or worse, that's exactly how language evolves. Frankly, I don't
like it any more than you do, but I don't have any control over it, nor do
you.

but until that happens, it just ain't right.

Sadly for you, it has already happened to "biannual". It will eventually
happen to other words dear to me (such as "comprise", which some
dictionaries are already starting to acknowledge as a synonym for
"compose"), but this race has already run, and "biannual" lost.

Pete

For better or worse, that's exactly how language evolves.

Yes, you are right. But there is a time, between when the word is used
one way, and when it is accepted as meaning something else, where such
usage, is just wrong. Sometimes the barbarians can be beaten back,
sometimes not. But the effort must be made, lest all words mean
anything, and nothing.

Jose
--
Money: what you need when you run out of brains.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

"Jose" wrote in message
om...
[...] Sometimes the barbarians can be beaten back, sometimes not.

The barbarians can NEVER be beaten back. There are way too many of them,
and they didn't pay attention in English class.

Jose,


bi·an·nu·al (bi-an'yu-?l)
adj.
1.. Happening twice each year; semiannual.
2.. Occurring every two years; biennial.

biannual
One entry found for biannual. Main Entry: bi·an·nu·al
Pronunciation: (")bI-'an-y&(-w&)l
Function: adjective
1 : occurring twice a year
2 : BIENNIAL 1
usage see BI-
- bi·an·nu·al·ly adverb



"Jose" wrote in message
. net...
Sorry, wrong answer. The dictionary definition of "biannual" allows for
both the "half" and "every two" interpretation.

Then you need a new dictionary. Unlike "flammable" and "inflammable", the
use of "biannual" for "every two years" is incorrect. Perhaps if enough
people persist in mangling the language, it will become accepted by the
general educated populace with that meaning, but until that happens, it
just ain't right.

Jose
(yes, I know of "ain't"'s long history)
--
Money: what you need when you run out of brains.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

bi·an·nu·al (bi-an'yu-?l)
adj.
1.. Happening twice each year; semiannual.
2.. Occurring every two years; biennial.

Barbarians at the door!

What are we going to do when we need words that actually =mean= things?

Jose
--
Money: what you need when you run out of brains.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

"Jose" wrote in message
m...
bi·an·nu·al (bi-an'yu-?l)
adj.
1.. Happening twice each year; semiannual.
2.. Occurring every two years; biennial.

Barbarians at the door!

What are we going to do when we need words that actually =mean= things?


Jose

Jus maak sumptin-you know-up, like whuts wrong wit dat?

allen