Re: 'age: was voltage

[Leigh Palmer <palmer@sfu.ca>]

> Gang:
> 	I guess I can acknowledge the usefulness of "voltage" as a
> term for a physical quantity, BUT in an age where power
> companies have "outages", freight cars have "tonages", and
> city streets have "signage"; I have begun to wonder if
> "voltage" is not accomodation with the enemies of our

I'm with you, Barlow, but surely some "age" words are to be
permitted. When I moved to BC from California (where we had
"power failures") I was introduced to "outages" (which
occurred with much greater frequency in those days). I
decided that it was due to the French influence, but I was
wrong. That ugly word has now crept south. I would be very
concerned if there were not more serious threats to the
language around. like the gratuitous introduction of words
("substantive" where "substantial" already exists,
"orientate", etmegac.), the use of "inclusive" (and
manifestly ungrammatical) pronouns, the verbing of many
words ("loan" has displaced "lend", etc.), etgigac.

Arghh

Leigh (the curmudgeon)