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NNTP-Posting-Date: Fri, 30 Jan 2009 06:32:33 -0600
From: Egbert White <eggwhite@earthlink.net>
Newsgroups: alt.languages.english
Subject: Re: How to name a couple?
Date: Fri, 30 Jan 2009 04:32:06 -0800
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On Fri, 30 Jan 2009 04:27:00 +0000, Frederick Williams
<frederick.williams2@tesco.net> wrote:
>How to name a couple?
>
> Sir Crispin, and Lady Zenobia, Flowerdew
>
>or
>
> Sir Crispin and Lady Zenobia Flowerdew?
>
>The first makes the fragrant Lady Zenobia seem like an afterthought,
>while the second suggests the possibility that Sir Crispin is not a
>Flowerdew.
I think this is another case where it's not a good idea to assume the
reader will think like you do. To better avoid ambiguity, wouldn't it
be good to write either
Sir Crispin Flowerdew and Lady Zenobia Flowerdew
or
Lady Zenobia Flowerdew and Sir Crispin.
Better yet, if Sir Crispin has a last name, it would be good to say
so:
Lady Zenobia Flowerdew and Sir Crispin Jones.
>[An afterthought: if one actually wanted to convey that Sir Crispin is
>not a Flowerdew would one write
>
> Sir Crispin, and Lady Zenobia Flowerdew?]
--
Egbert White, | "I love Americans, but not when they try
Planet Earth | to talk French. What a blessing it is that
| that they never try to talk English."
| -- Saki's Mrs. Mebberley
|
|