Re: e-mail

[palmer@sfu.ca (Leigh Palmer)]

> i)
> The use of quotation marks around a word to indicate that it is not to be
> taken literally is in sense an emoticon and is quite often used in good
> prose.

I don't often do that. In the quotation below the punctuation is quite
correctly applied in the manner signifying that the use here is of the
word *per se* rather than any meaning of the word. Look it up; I'm right
this time.

> ii)
> > By the way, the singular of "medium"
> > is "media".
>
> my two dictionaries, that I keep in my office, tell me that "media" is the
> plural of "medium".

Erk! I goofed, that's all. I should reread what I write. I can't type,
and I write faster than I think! I meant to correct the error made in
the paragraph preceding that, of course. It appears that I tried to
reinforce it! But of course you already knew it was a slip and not an
expression of my ignorance on the topic, didn't you? That proves my
point about the redundancy in language, this time in context. I really
do know the singular of "media". I just thought I should input that
datum for emphasis.

Language is fun!

Leigh