Catalog / protolog versus Catalogue / protologue

[christian thompson]

Richard:

In regards to your comment:

>Despite my residence within the U.S., I think I'll stay with the "gue"
>ending in my application (we 'mericans cost ourselves a great deal in our
>efforts to be different solely for the purpose of being different....)

"American" English is more sucessful that English English because it adapts. And this is why French is no longer the "International" language it once was as it refused to adapt. Languages, like species, need to adapt, change, etc., to be survive. 

The English insist on holding to the French which William brought over from Normandy a thousand years ago.

But "Americans*"  for many words, we simply drop what is no longer needed. So, we write monolog, catalog, log (=sense of ship's log), epilog, et cetera (yes, that is Latin, but ... ).  In short, as we no longer pronouce the terminal "ue" there is no need to continue to carry it in the written language simply because of what happened years ago.

*I say "Americans" but really the vast amount of change in the "English" is being driven by all non-English users of the English language. But due to American dominance in new technologies, communications, etc., we are appropriately blamed to the good and bad of that evolution! 

So, why hold onto a thousand year old vestigial appendix? drop the terminal "ue" It is a matter of evolution and progress, not simply wanting to be different.

Cheers


F. Christian Thompson
Systematic Entomology Lab., ARS, USDA
Smithsonian Institution
Washington, D. C. 20560-0169
(202) 382-1800 voice
(202) 786-9422 FAX
cthompso at sel.barc.usda.gov [NB: no terminal "n"]
visit our Diptera site at www.diptera.org


>>> Richard Pyle <deepreef at BISHOPMUSEUM.ORG> 06/19 7:03 AM >>>
>     Si aux États-Unis on préfère la forme protolog, rien n'empêche de
> l'employer, mais elle n'exclut pas la forme protologue, utilisée
> officiellement dans le Code !

Despite my residence within the U.S., I think I'll stay with the "gue"
ending in my application (we 'mericans cost ourselves a great deal in our
efforts to be different solely for the purpose of being different....)

> P.-S. En français l'étymologie de -logue dans catalogue est
> différente de celle de dialogue, monologue, mycologue, épilogue, etc.

Out of curioisity, which sort of '-logue' is 'Protologue'?  Like
'catalogue', or like the others?

Aloha,
Rich

Richard L. Pyle
Ichthyology, Bishop Museum
1525 Bernice St., Honolulu, HI 96817
Ph: (808)848-4115, Fax: (808)847-8252
email: deepreef at bishopmuseum.org 
http://www.bishopmuseum.org/bishop/HBS/pylerichard.html 
"The opinions expressed are those of the sender, and not necessarily those
of Bishop Museum."