Jan,
The so-called "long s" is the form of the letter that was used up into the 19th c. in initial and medial positions. The "short" or "terminal" s, the only lower case form we use today, was used only at the end of a word. The long s is easily confused with f, especially by modern readers who aren't used to the long s. They differ generally in that the long s lacks the cross-bar that f has. However, some fonts had a half bar extending to the left rather than a cross-bar, and those are especially easy to confuse. I ran an OCR program on an 18th c. text once, and all of the long s's were interpreted as f's. The results were sometimes hilarious. Because of the confusion with f, the long s ceased to be used by the early 19th c. The symbol connecting c and t is called a ligature.
Herb
-----Original Message-----
From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Jan Kammert
Sent: Friday, December 31, 2010 10:50 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Reminder Regarding Discussion List Etiquette
Hi John (and all!),
I have been sitting on a question that I'm not sure has anything to do with grammar, but I know that many people on this list will be able to answer my question.
Maybe this new question will lead to an interesting discussion.
I teach middle school, and my students have asked me why in writing from the 1700s, something that looks like an f is sometimes used in place of an s. What is that letter called? What is the rule about when that letter was used? How did it come to be used? And why isn't it used now?
I have the same questions about the symbol that connects a c to a t in writing from the same time period.
Thanks for your information. I'll share with my students when we get back together on Monday.
Jan
Quoting John Dews-Alexander <[log in to unmask]>:
And the discussion group gets smaller. We lose members after every
other exchange it seems these days.
Please, everyone, moderate thyself. We often have entire classes of
students join our discussion group; these students, ranging from high
school students to graduate students, often observe only and deserve
better than what they sometimes get from us. I've been contacted by
more than one teacher who has expressed disappointment in the amount of
unprofessional behavior seen on the list at times. I explain to them
the nature of a public, unmoderated list with the hope that they will
understand. However, without stating anything as a "rule," let me share
some common precepts and expectations that make for successful listserv
groups:
* All those who use this list are expected to maintain quality
levels of professionalism, ethics, decorum and civility regarding
postings.
Postings and Etiquette/Netiquette
Postings should exhibit the following:
* Maturity and tact
* Audience-appropriate language
* Cogency when possible
Avoid posting that can be reasonably described as any of the following:
* Libelous
* Defamatory
* Obscene
* Pornographic
* Threatening
* Invasive of privacy
* Abusive
* Illegal
* Constitute or encourage a criminal offense
* Violate the rights of any individual, group or entity
* Create liability
* Copyright infringements
These seem like no-brainers, right? We currently do not moderate or
censor messages nor do we impose consequences for violations. To do so
would require interpretation of content, which is subjective. We've
tried to stay away from this. Please allow us to continue to do so. I
will be working with ATEG's leadership to review policies for blatant
offenses such as commercial spam and pornography. I truly hope we don't
have to expand the policies to encompass more than that.
John Alexander
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