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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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wow:
I use these terms in place of coming and continuing because they convey a message that is otherwise lost.
To me an "upcoming" election is one that is close at hand; definitely closer at hand than is the coming election, but of course I can't tell you when a coming election becomes an upcoming election. (notice how I used the "l" so cleverly to avoid the gutter police???)
Ongoing to me implies that it's happening right now: the ongoing trial. If I susbstitute continuing I lose the immediacy of the event that I "feel" when I use ongoing. It might also be ambiguous for trial if you infer the use of the transitive verb continue.
This is to me why English has a million or more words, so we can include these subtle nuances and make our writing and speaking as rich as possible.
TEd
TEd
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Carpal Tunnel
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Okay, I accept that some of you don't like the use of "functionality". I spent an hour this morning painting cupboard doors and thinking about alternatives. (Yes, I have a very sad life. [Boo-hoo emoticon])
No alternatives came to mind which sum up the concept of "the tasks which this software object is capable of carrying out" as succinctly and meaningfully to all concerned. Yes, it's jargon. No, it's not just jargon for the sake of it.
I would strenuously argue against its use with, say, reference to toasters or electric jugs. And I have seen it used in this kind of context.
The idiot also known as Capfka ...
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Cap Kiwi - Perhaps you used it in less than complete seriousness, but I must know - what is an electric jug? What is its functionality?
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Carpal Tunnel
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wow complains: perfectly good words are lengthened for no apparent reason and compares ONgoing (bad) with continuing (good)
A ten letter word is lengthened and becomes a seven letter word?
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Carpal Tunnel
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Hyla seeks translation: Cap Kiwi - Perhaps you used it in less than complete seriousness, but I must know - what is an electric jug? What is its functionality?
Read "electric kettle", I guess. You know, thingy with an element for boiling water. Didn't realise "jug" was less than universal ...
The idiot also known as Capfka ...
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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I use upcoming when I want to create a feeling immediacy. “I will run in the upcoming election” sounds like your will run in the election coming up next, not the one after; and that there are no elections between now and that one.
In some circumstances I prefer ongoing to continuing. Ongoing gives the impression that the thing (trial for example) has been happening and will continue to happen, whereas continuing can mean it stopped and is now starting over. I realize that in the second case resuming would be the appropriate word but it is not always used. Look at all televised mini-series. They “continue from yesterday,” never resume.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Oh jug is pretty unversal--
but its usually a little brown jug-- ..
and back a-ways, we had this silly digression on to cooking and food-- and realized
Everyone in America has (or at least knows about) toaster ovens-- but very few of us have electric kettles
and most of the rest of the english speaking world has electric kettles, and hasn't a clue what a toaster oven is...
I haven't checked the profile-- but i'll bet Hyla is American, or English is not first language. (or not the language of home land)-- so even the idea of an electric kettle might be strange...
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Carpal Tunnel
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As I think I've said before, and MaxQ will have if I haven't, NZ and the Strine are caught between the British/European culture and the American culture. Although there have been attempts to keep the American cultural wolf from the gate, they have never been particularly successful. We often have two words for the same thing where there are distinct British and American terms. And even three, where there is a Zild term which is distinct from either of the others, although nothing really comes to mind. Any NZer would understand either electric kettle or electric jug without the need for explanation. And toaster ovens, for that matter! 
The idiot also known as Capfka ...
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Yes, it's jargon. No, it's not just jargon for the sake of it.
Yes, this is the key. The reason technical jargon gets a bad name is when it's overused or needlessly extended. Often, 'functionality' should be crossed out and replaced by 'function' or 'use' whenever someone intelligent gets to read the manager's/salesperson's first draft. (This seldom ever happens.) But there is a good niche for the word when it's genuinely needed.
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I thought maybe electric jugs had to do with the German Stopsemfromfloppenelektrifizierung.
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