Hi everybody! I wonder if this spelling is the result of computer technology. Is it possible that people started mis-typing 'manufactures' for 'manufacturers'? Spell checking would not identify this typo AS a typo. Any thoughts about this? Paul E. Doniger ----- Original Message ----- From: Rabinowitz, Jennifer <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Thursday, July 19, 2001 4:54 PM Subject: Re: Manufacture vs. Manufacturer > Hello, one and all-- > My hunch is that "manufactures" used in the context of a plural noun is more > about pretension than it is about hasty speaking by non-readers. For some > reason, it has a kind of exalted quality to it--maybe it's something to do > with the wierd way latin words get pluralized, or perhaps it's about that > -re, -er thing in French pronunciation. > > Jenny Rabinowitz > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Glauner, Jeff [mailto:[log in to unmask]] > Sent: Thursday, July 19, 2001 4:35 PM > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: Re: Manufacture vs. Manufacturer > > > Greg, > > I see this sort of thing in the writing of persons who don't do a lot of > reading. They spell the word the way it sounds to them when it is > pronounced. The hasty speaker sometimes leaves the second -er off a word > like manufacturer. We are a long way from accepting this particular > respelling. Spelling in English is exceedingly resistant to change. This > misspelling might, however, mean that the pronunciation of the word is in > flux. Pronunciation is not as resistant to change as spelling. Notice, for > instance, the almost complete loss of the distinctive wh- sound in standard > English. A large percentage of speakers now pronounces "weather" and > "whether" as homonyms. That leads to some interesting confusion in writing. > > Jeff Glauner > Associate Professor of English > Park University, Box 1303 > 8700 River Park Drive > Parkville MO 64152 > [log in to unmask] > http://www.park.edu/jglauner/index.htm > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Greg Dyer [mailto:[log in to unmask]] > Sent: Thursday, July 19, 2001 2:36 PM > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: Manufacture vs. Manufacturer > > > Hello all -- > > Thus far I've merely been a lurker on this list, but a recently > submitted paper prompted me to share this rather trivial > comment/question. A few years ago, when I was teaching a technical > writing class for engineering majors, I began to notice students using > the word "manufactures" as a noun in place of "manufacturers." > Consider, for example, the following sentence: "Tire manufactures state > the tire is worn out once it reaches this minimal tread." This use of > the word drives me absolutely nuts, but it happens often enough that I'm > beginning to wonder if the usage of the word has changed (or is > changing), at least within the technical professions. Has anyone else > noticed a similar usage? > > Greg Dyer > > To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface > at: > http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html > and select "Join or leave the list" > > Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/ > > To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface > at: > http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html > and select "Join or leave the list" > > Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/ > > To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: > http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html > and select "Join or leave the list" > > Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/ > To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list" Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/