English vs American

[artme]

Ah yes! One of my hobby horses - language.

What we tend to forget, or perhaps don't even know about American English, is that it has preserved in general usage a number
of ""old fashioned"words. Diaper is one example.

Early in its history America was absorbing immigrants from many backgrounds. Many were illiterate and so spelling and grammar were
not always correct.

Language is changing evolving thing. Who wants to spend decades, as was done by the French Academy, to define the meaning of a single word?

How many are aware that commonly used words today are derived from words that have a different inference? Look at fantastic and terrific.

I don't like the word dado. It just seems odd.

As for slot we think of a narrow trench. It is actually a Scottish word tio describe the gap between a woman's breasts.

[rwbuild]

Well, me and the missus yaked about it for a while, chewed the fat and reckon that any drongo who lives in Oz needs to speak the local lingo so all our mates don't get in a blue, and if they do, we will give Blue and his cobbers a coee to sort the mob out.

To sort this dado thing before we get derailed will require a day, any day do, okedoke. Now I don't want to rabbit on about rebates and get stuck in a groove otherwise we will be ploughing through this subject and get entrenched in our own preferences and end up being housed in the dog house.

[Bushmiller]

Now I don't want to rabbit on about rebates and get stuck in a groove otherwise we will be ploughing through this subject and get entrenched in our own preferences and end up being housed in the dog house.

RW

I don't think rabbit will catch on here. Hasn't the government legislated against them? They are certainly personna non grata in QLD. Big signs as you cross the border . Nothing about dados that I've noticed .

Regards
paul

[derekcohen]

It is rabbet not rabbit ... and of course it is neither when it should be a rebate.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[lesmeyer]

During my 5 years of woodwork as a full time subject in high school in South Africa (British system), what everyone refers to as a dado was known as a housing joint. This was made using chisels and not the new fan-dangled dado planes or even electric routers for that matter.

Les

PS! my preferred method to make a housing joint today is using the electric router. (Festool OF1400 to be exact)

[ch!ppy]

During my 5 years of woodwork as a full time subject in high school in South Africa (British system), what everyone refers to as a dado was known as a housing joint. This was made using chisels and not the new fan-dangled dado planes or even electric routers for that matter.

Les

PS! my preferred method to make a housing joint today is using the electric router. (Festool OF1400 to be exact)

so out of , what, seven continents, so far only one, uses or refers to them (trenches) as dado's , north america, and we are meant to bow to that , give me a break!

[ch!ppy]

Hmm, lots of heat, but little light! Who says the way we spell or name anything is "right",

the civilised population is the common answer to that or the literacy of that field is recognised as legit, considering this is australia the publications and the tradespeople here fill those requirements better than anything else

or even has historical precedence?

the terms , trenching and or housing joints have enough historical precedence to firmly establish themselfs in australian history, dado's do not

We Aussies have corrupted & added to the English language we inherited, both enriching & impoverishing it, depending on point of view.

cant find a fault with that but i cant see how that influences why we are meant to call housing joints , dado's

Spelling is a real can of worms! A man who was much cleverer with the language than any of us (George Bernard Shaw) thought English spelling was idiotic and not only doesn't reflect the way a large number of words are pronounced, it's hopelessly inconsistent. He offered a large amount of money to anyone who managed to get phonetic spelling widely accepted. No-one has ever claimed the prize, since surprise, surprise, no-one will agree on whose phones get spelt. So spare a thought for the poor sods who have to learn English as a foreign language!

it sure doesn't take GBS to tell us that the english language is now muddled and corrupt but i am sure if he was located in australia, in his time he would respect and would call it a housing joint or trench due to his understanding of importance of correct terminology in reference to location

it is not about the pronunciation of words, it is about using the correct terms, it is not about the phonetics, it is about the words as a whole, i dont care what accent anyone has when they say the word!

I used to fuss about the 'purity' of the language, but it slowly dawned on my dim wits that I was fighting a pointless & losing battle. As someone has suggested already, if we could visit our rellies of a few hundred years back, we'd be mutually unintelligible, and likewise if we could go a few hundred years into the future, no doubt. The only languages that remainh static are those no longer in daily use. I do resent the corruption of technical terms because it reduces the precision they are supposed to impart.

its difficult to relate your comments to the topic at hand however housing joints if you were to speak of them could be considered a technical term in the field of WW...

However substituting one word for another isn't quite the same, as long as we agree it means the same thing. Let's face it, from time to time, certain nations have been dominant and stamped their lingo on large parts of the planet - ask the Italians, Spanish, Portugese, French & Romanians (have I left anyone out?) if the Romans ever did anything for them.

you can not simply interchange words because it confounds even the best minds,,,if agreed terms are used by mutual populations then there is no need to interchange from a different population (from the mouth of babes)


which means, in no short terms if they- are called housing joints or trenching they dont confuse the whole thing by calling it a dado,

Oh yeah, & how 'Dado' came to be applied to a trench is anyone's guess. It's original meaning, which Wheelin' has directed us to, is equivalent to 'wainscotting' (which in turn is a corruption of middle English for wagon sides!). But it clearly was applied to trenching at some stage in Nth America, and since they are now the second-largest nation of English users (after India), I guess they will have a bit of influence on what gets rit & sed in all the various media dealing with woodwork for the foreseeable future....

Cheers,

well i have probably never heard anything quite so ridiculous or unacceptable, to get the first bit out of the way just because the yanks are the biggest crowd on the block, doesnt mean you have to change your speech or values, hold on to your independence! surely you have earned it, i know i have, secondly wainscoting is not a corruption of anything, not in the slightest, it is a craft, a technique or a method, it simply ends up in a predicable pattern. i've done it hundreds and hundreds of times and will probably do it a hundred more before i'm gone, its quite pleasurable work

frankly i dont want my comments to taken out of context and i dont want to promote the term of dado, but basically dado's are timber going at right angles to another , nothing special about it, for every instance you could use the term dado i'm sure i can use a far nicer or more accurate term


cheers
chippy

[Bushmiller]

Chippy

I just need to clarify something here. Do you feel strongly about this subject ?

Regards
Paul

[Bushmiller]

As for slot we think of a narrow trench. It is actually a Scottish word tio describe the gap between a woman's breasts.

The great divide. A bit like this thread. I can't say I've ever thought of them in that way. Lots of other ways. Are you sure it refered to breasts?

A strange race the Scottish, but wonderful. I'm not aware of them being renowned woodworkers, but if they did become accomplished I could see the language becoming very confused.

Regards
Paul

[A Duke]

It is rabbet not rabbit ... and of course it is neither when it should be a rebate.

Regards from Perth

Derek

My apologies.

[Koala-Man]

To sort this dado thing before we get derailed will require a day, any day do, okedoke. Now I don't want to rabbit on about rebates and get stuck in a groove otherwise we will be ploughing through this subject and get entrenched in our own preferences and end up being housed in the dog house.

Don't you mean "kennel"?

[rwbuild]

Don't you mean "kennel"?

Yeh, kennel

[wheelinround]

Wonder what they call it in China? Middle East?

Farmers would call it a forrow after all you maybe using a plough plane to make one

[pmcgee]

I think I can get this one on the edge of the US english basket ...

When I started reading up about machinery and woodworking ... I struck the term 'planer' ...

I seem to recall that (seriously) it was several weeks before the confusion really cleared and I understood there was:

- a jointer / planer / buzzer AND

- a planer / thicknesser

depending on what terms you liked to use.

Argh. This could be like some apprentice's test ...

"Go down to supplies for a Long (Weight/Wait)"

"We're gunna need some Elbow Grease"

"Get this to the Planer" ... ... cue double-take ...

Paul

[jimbur]

Paul, it gets really difficult when misspelling come into it as well. Still she'll be right.