Subj : something from BBC
To   : alexander koryagin
From : Ardith Hinton
Date : Fri Mar 02 2018 18:00:57

Hi, Alexander!  Awhile ago you wrote in a message to All:

ak>  =========Beginning of the citation==============
ak>  English language 'originated in Turkey'

ak>  Their findings differ from conventional theory that these
ak>  languages originated 5,000 years ago in south-west Russia.
ak>  =========The end of the citation================

ak>  Is it OK with English here?


        Good question.  In North American English the hyphen is usually omitted 
except with compass bearings like "south-southwest", but that may or may be the 
case in British or Australian English nowadays.  Similarly, although I would be 
more likely to use one of the constructions you mentioned, the BBC's usage here 
is IMHO within currently acceptable limits.  If native speakers of English tend 
to drop inflections... as they've already been doing for a thousand years or so
.... I can relate to a certain extent.  I balk at "drive safe", however....  ;-)



ak>  IMHO it must be:

ak>  Their findings differ from conventional theory that these
ak>  languages originated 5,000 years ago in the south-west of
ak>  Russia.
ak>  or
ak>  Their findings differ from conventional theory that these
ak>  languages originated 5,000 years ago in south-western Russia.


        In Southwestern BC, where Dallas & I live, a large number of immigrants 
come from Southeast Asia.  Why the distinction?  I don't know.  That's just the 
way people talk around these parts.  Asia is a continent, but Canada & Russia & 
the US occupy a lot of real estate too.  I'd say some of our modem buddies here 
live in the Southeastern US... while they might say they live in the Southeast. 
And around these parts, if you want to know who comes from Back East (i.e. from 
some considerable distance east of the Rockies), all you have to do is wait for 
them to say "Out East"... particularly if they've grown up in Ontario & they're 
under forty years of age.  Out east, out west.  It is consistent.  But in order 
to understand folks from around these parts one must understand that many of us 
are here because our parents and/or grandparents arrived on this continent Back 
East & kept moving Out West until they encountered the Pacific Ocean... [grin].

                                   ###

        My apologies for taking such a long time to answer... I had to let this 
idea percolate until I'd consciously recognized another example which seemed to 
be clamouring for attention but which I couldn't quite put into words.  We have 
a street in Vancouver called Marine Drive... as do many other places on the Wet 
Coast.  It runs from UBC (i.e. technically outside the city limits) to the edge 
of Burnaby (i.e. the suburb next door) & beyond.  IOW, it's quite a long street 
by our standards although you could probably get from London to Wales in the UK 
& vice versa by following Chepstow Road.  Because it crosses a boundary between 
east & west WRT the naming of various other streets, however, this one is known 
either as Southeast or Southwest Marine Drive.  It's small potatoes compared to 
any number of other things but large in comparison to its immediate neighbours.

                                   ###

        To make a long story short... while I may be able to carry off the same 
sort of stunt Henry Higgins did at times, I have no precedent in my memory bank 
for references to Russia.  I think a lot may depend on where one lives....  :-)




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

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