Re: Having seen Iron Man

Erik Max Francis <max@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> Christian Weisgerber wrote:
> 
>> Erik Max Francis  <max@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>> 
>> [giga-]
>>> "Was"?  It's never been "officially correct" as far as can be
reasonably 
>>> understood.  (What determines what is "officially correct"
pronunciation 
>>> of words in the United States, anyway?)
>> 
>> You pick up your dictionary of choice, which records the pronunciations
>> in use among educated speakers.  Merriam-Webster has recorded both
>> the ji- and gi- variants for <giga-> at least since 1961.
> 
> Yes, that's exactly why the notion that the "ji-" pronunciation was 
> "officially correct" is a silly claim, which was precisely my point.

Isn't that kind of backwards? The fact that it was listed in a dictionary 
*sup****ts* the idea of "officially correct". Unless you're thinking that 
it can only be officially correct to the exclusion of the other one, which

doesn't have to be the case.

-- 
Mike Ash
Radio Free Earth
Broadcasting from our climate-controlled studios deep inside the Moon