(Almost) Useless English Trivia

Chase ... a not useless question for you - :)

Out of curiosity, why is this word with 2 different spellings - program/programme?
 
Unless you have have two equal forms of the same word with the same meaning in Australia, which is often the case in some English-speaking countries, the answer is it's just another example of U.S. and British spelling differences. It's something like theatre and theater, among and amongst.

For U.S. publications, "program" is correct and preferred. In the original Hounds of the Baskervilles, "programme" is correct and is still the preference in England.

I hope all you required was definition. Thanks for the contribution to almost useless trivia, ha ha.
 
Matilda, Matlda, Matilda,
She take me money and run Venezuela . . .

From a '50s song by Harry Belafonte.

The grammar rules of your URL are British, and they do seem to indicate two meanings of program/programme. In like manner, British spelling has two spellings of blond/blonde.

I'm far from an expert at British variations of spelling, grammar, and punctuation. In fact, few can claim to be, as it sometimes depends on the country.

In spelling for U.S. publication, there is only one spelling of each.
 
Chase said:
Matilda, Matlda, Matilda,
She take me money and run Venezuela . . .

From a '50s song by Harry Belafonte.

The grammar rules of your URL are British, and they do seem to indicate two meanings of program/programme. In like manner, British spelling has two spellings of blond/blonde.

I'm far from an expert at British variations of spelling, grammar, and punctuation. In fact, few can claim to be, as it sometimes depends on the country.

In spelling for U.S. publication, there is only one spelling of each.
Click to expand...
When I was a journalist, we followed the AP Style Guide. "Blond" referred to either the hair coloring, or a male with blond hair. "Blonde" referred to a female with blond hair. Examples:
"She bought a blond wig."
"The missing child was a blond boy, six years old."
"The statuesque blonde won the beauty contest."
 
Ah, English - my favorite subject! (The word "Ah!" is an interjection.)

In this case, sentence fragments are accepted on occasional times, like for emphasis in literature or when answering simple questions. When you type up a report or a research paper, proper grammar is mandatory and in APA or MLA format. MLA is recommended for English classes, while APA format is recommended for writing up business reports.

If you put more than 3 comma splices (comma placed between two independent clauses) in an English paper at college, the professors would grade the ENTIRE paper at up to a D - no C or above, just a D or below. I'm not bullshitting you.

Just FYI, it's important to keep up the good grammar skills; please don't reject them and be like "So what? English's not my first language anyway!" - it makes you more of an idiot if you go with that attitude.
 
Chase said:
Of course you're correct, Babyface. Roddenberry did mean man as "mankind." But even back in the '60s women's rights groups were complaining about the use of "he" and "him" to mean both genders.

In many ways, since he was writing about the future, Roddenberry could have both cleaned up his English and perhaps been more foreward thinking.
Click to expand...
I remember watching those Star Trek: The Original Series episodes. Boy, those shows were very sexist. Hehehe!

I can remember the women wearing skirts and being constantly hit on by Captain Kirk. It wouldn't be a Star Trek: The Original Series episode unless there was Captain Kirk making a sexually suggestive gesture. ;)
 
Reba said:
When I was a journalist, we followed the AP Style Guide. "Blond" referred to either the hair coloring, or a male with blond hair. "Blonde" referred to a female with blond hair. Examples:
"She bought a blond wig."
"The missing child was a blond boy, six years old."
"The statuesque blonde won the beauty contest."
Click to expand...

Reba, I learned the same journalistic rule. In fact, "blonde" and "blond" were supposed to be the last remaining U.S. publication word with the same meaning and sound but had different spellings depending on gender.

It's possible the AP stylebook still makes the distinction, but Chicago, Webster, MLA, ans APA guidebooks are now leaning towards dropping the e for both genders. Too bad. I love blonde jokes.
 
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