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Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 1
stranger
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OP
stranger
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 1 |
Recently, I had a debate over the two words enquire and inquire. If there is no difference, then why the different spellings? My argument was that to enquire is a private matter, not one of great public interest, just something you do to find relevant information to assist yourself. To inquire, was a public research into some matter of interest to a wider group, for example a nation.
I was offered many other reasonings, such as the original was enquire but the modern day world has taken a more literal consequence of the word and put the phonetic inquire instead. Or inquire is a legal term.
What are your views? And can anyone provide me with a logical explanation as to what they propose the bizarre reasoning behind these two words is?
Leaving you Puzzled,
Lexi
Leaving you Puzzled,
Lexi
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Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 742
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 742 |
Haere mai, lexxzi, kei te pehea koe? It's so nice to have someone else from the non-penal side of the Tasman here, I'm even prepared to magnanimously forgive you for being a citizen of Banksville. As to your inquiry, MerriamWebster, a USn dictionary I believe, lists enquiry as a mere variant of inquire. Chambers says at enquire, "See inquire." It seems that our word comes from Old French enquerre which in turn comes from Latin inquirere, so perhaps the alternate spellings a result of the sort of duplicate importation that gave us royal and regal. Or perhaps, I am simply a gibbering loon from the unknown wilderness south of the Bombays.
Noho ora mai, ka kite.
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,146
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Nov 2000
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Yep, choose yer poison and use it. There's no substantive difference between the two. Used to be that immigration applied to people coming into the country and emigration to people leaving it. Like me, f'rinstance. But not now. They're just totally interchangeable. Depends on whether you're more comfortable typing "i" or "e".
Someone said that there was another Zilder on the board. But you're from Auckland, I see, so there's still only sjm.
The idiot also known as Capfka ...
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Joined: Mar 2001
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,189 |
And, of course, in the case of The Philadelphia Inquirer and The National Enquirer, it's like comparing the New York Times to toilet paper.  But enquiring minds want to know tabloidture, I guess. Welcome, lexxzi! Sounds like you'll fit right in with all our resident word addicts here! But you might not want to let Hev, stales, paulb, or doc_comfort know where you're from for awhile...they're all your admiring neighbors from OZ! 
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613 |
Welcome aBoard, Lexi--nice to have you!
===========================================================
Someone said that there was another Zilder on the board. But you're from Auckland, I see, so there's still only sjm.
Ah, yes, CK. It is a well-known fact, I believe, that Aughland is your favorite city...
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Joined: Mar 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511 |
Whoa, Jackie! Could you do us old folks a favor and go back and edit out a few =?
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613 |
Oh, Honey, I'm sorry--that's just my way of showing visually that I have begun a new, unrelated topic. A dividing line, as it were. I started that back when it was being pointed out regularly that I was making a lot of posts. Cuts down the numbers, don'tcha know. And...whattya mean, old folks??
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511 |
Yeahbut®, if you'd go back and delete maybe 6 of those =s, your dividing line would still be there but the screen would go back to normal width.
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Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 1,346
veteran
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veteran
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 1,346 |
I used to think of inquire as the USn/Canadian spelling and enquire as the UK spelling. I also sort of assumed that Australasians followed the UK spelling, as is often the case with spelling (and obscenities ). Having just done a quick 'n dirty search on the BBC, it looks like it holds true that Brits much prefer the "e" at the front. But sounds like I'm wrong about Australasians following suit. Interesting.
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Joined: Nov 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Nov 2000
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There are no Zildian rules that I can remember about in- vs en-. As I said earlier, that wasn't true of immigration and emigration at one point. I'm a nitpicker when it comes to marking essays (and thank some power not here that I don't have to do that any more) but I would never have picked on in- being used instead of -en, or vice versa. Or imm- vs -em for that matter.
And I see "inquire" used here quite a lot, so maybe it's a regional thang. You live in Essex, doncha? manfully resisting the urge to make cracks about Essex men and Essex girls ...
The idiot also known as Capfka ...
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