"Dognitive Science" again
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Following up on "Pets with Buttons", it's clearly time to return to "Dognitive Science" and catch up on the relevant literature.
December 5, 2025 @ 6:29 am · Filed by Mark Liberman under The language of science
« previous post | next post »
Following up on "Pets with Buttons", it's clearly time to return to "Dognitive Science" and catch up on the relevant literature.
December 5, 2025 @ 6:29 am · Filed by Mark Liberman under The language of science
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Stephen Goranson said,
December 6, 2025 @ 1:22 pm
Try, try again. Be dogged.
Philip Taylor said,
December 6, 2025 @ 1:34 pm
It has never struck me before, but on seeing Stephen's comment above and thinking of the phrase "dogged determination", I wonder why it is not conventionally written as "doggèd determination" — after all, we have no hesitation in writing (e.g.,) "belovèd wife", "learnèd scholar", and so on …
Michael Vnuk said,
December 6, 2025 @ 4:33 pm
It's true that 'doggèd determination' is rare. A Google search gets only 3 hits, and all are discussing the pronunciation, whereas the unaccented version has 700,000 hits. But the word 'we' is doing a lot of work when Philip Taylor says that 'we have no hesitation in writing' 'belovèd wife' and 'learnèd scholar', as these forms have only about 200 hits each, compared to 12,000,000 and 250,000 for unaccented versions. These results fit my observations: accented versions are rare. I can see an argument for such accented versions, but the weight of usage is so strongly against them. However, if you want accents on English words to clarify pronunciation, the final E in 'hyperbole', 'epitome' and 'Penelope' would be good places to start.
Philip Taylor said,
December 7, 2025 @ 6:43 am
Yes, mea culpa — "we" was almost certainly an overstatement. I was, of course, speaking of my own writing practices and generalising them to those of others without any justification. But then as I am one of the (very) few who still write "mediæval", "palæography", "encyclopædia" and so on, what I practice is almost certainly not what the majority practice.
Philip Taylor said,
December 7, 2025 @ 6:53 am
Oh, and to add to Michael's list, "Hermione" could most certainly do with a diacritic on the final letter, but I would prefer to add a raised dot or macron rather than a grave accent so that the naïve are not led to believe that it should be pronounced /h${}^{ə$}r ˈmaɪ‿ən e/ …
Philip Taylor said,
December 7, 2025 @ 6:53 am
Oops, try again — /h${}^{ə}$r ˈmaɪ‿ən e/
Rodger C said,
December 7, 2025 @ 9:55 am
The cursèd [!] shades
All dwell in Hades,
But saved alone
Is Hermione.
She dwells, I hope,
With Penelope,
Under a proscenium
Resembling the Athenaeum.