Subj : Strange a bit
To   : Alexander Koryagin
From : Ardith Hinton
Date : Tue Oct 08 2024 18:36:08

Hi, Alexander!  Recently you wrote in a message to Ardith Hinton:

AH>  The author, BTW, is generally known Over Here as
AH>  A. A. Milne.... :-)

                       [...]

AK>  I asked about the second name.

           Oh, I see.  I'd describe the initials here as representing a person's given names and "Milne" as a surname or family name.

           I understand these things work a bit differently WRT Russian names... and to complicate matters, a person's given name may also be the mother's maiden name and/or another individual's surname where I come from.


AK>  How would you write it "Milne" or "Miln" if you
AK>  never saw it written.

           Well, it does rhyme with "kiln"... so if I'd never seen or heard this name before I might employ the latter until I had time to investigate further.

           YMMV because I live in a country where most people speak English, but I'd probably start with the Vancouver telephone directory.  When I see there are +/- 100 entries for "Milne" but none for "Miln" I believe the former is correct.

           When I recognize it as the name of a well-known author I have various other choices.  I can consult a modern English/English dictionary which includes some proper nouns where older ones don't.  I can check the card catalogue at the public library.  I can ask the nearest English major, elementary school teacher, teacher/librarian, etc.  Or I can search the Internet... which may sometimes for whatever reason be more easily said than done wherever one happens to live.  :-)




--- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+
 * Origin: Wits' End, Vancouver CANADA (1:153/716)

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