ECN Forum
Posted By: EV607797 Receptacles - 12/24/06 03:49 AM
I am just asking a very basic question. Since it's obvious that all electricians work with them, why is there so much trouble spelling them correctly? I mean, we go through thousands of boxes of them, with their name printed clearly on every case, box or receipt, yet so many people still spell them "Recepticles".

http://www.spellcheck.net/cgi-bin/spell.exe?action=CHECKWORD&string=recepticles

Just a peeve that I have. I am not looking to offend anyone, but my former boss couldn't spell anything and it drove me crazy. Reading his notes were like going back to the second grade.

[Linked Image from v-rodforums.com]

[This message has been edited by EV607797 (edited 12-23-2006).]

[This message has been edited by EV607797 (edited 12-29-2006).]
Posted By: Sixer Re: Receptacles - 12/24/06 05:38 AM
How about "fluorescent"?
Posted By: e57 Re: Receptacles - 12/24/06 06:41 AM
Guilty - right here!

So whats next? Grammer an dpuncuation?
Typeing^tutorial?
Posted By: dougwells Re: Receptacles - 12/24/06 09:34 AM
Why is that one smiley beating the other smiley with a stick.

the proceeding comment was checked with spell check [Linked Image]
Posted By: georgestolz Re: Receptacles - 12/24/06 01:57 PM
I would be remiss if I did not note the fact that the original poster did indeed err in spelling the word "their" in the original post.

You can't start a spelling rant and have a typo, it's bad form. [Linked Image]
Posted By: togol Re: Receptacles - 12/24/06 02:22 PM
I alwyas thuoght is wsa ....recpetilcals...

or I ma stipud...
Posted By: Theelectrikid Re: Receptacles - 12/24/06 02:24 PM
Guilty as charged. I'll join Mark in Typeing School.

Ian (Edited cause I can't spell my name!) A.


[This message has been edited by Theelectrikid (edited 12-24-2006).]
Posted By: Lostazhell Re: Receptacles - 12/24/06 03:00 PM
It's all good... We have linemen at our jobsite that climb "pols" and "pul weirs" [Linked Image] Their paperwork is usually an interesting read for those who can decipher it...
Posted By: JCooper Re: Receptacles - 12/24/06 03:32 PM
We have one person on my fire department that can't spell battery. When we file a false activation report we sent a copy to the homeowner and to fire prevention with a line in it "..due to dead battier" Yea, we look like a bunch of professionals...
Posted By: pauluk Re: Receptacles - 12/24/06 03:50 PM
Over here the traditional name is "socket outlet" rather than receptacle, but even so I've seen some errant spellings.

Sockit anyone? I would, but it might "sock it" back to me! [Linked Image]
Posted By: gfretwell Re: Receptacles - 12/24/06 04:22 PM
I was told in High School that I spell like a plumber. I told him it was OK as long as I don't smell like one.
Posted By: Obsaleet Re: Receptacles - 12/24/06 04:25 PM
Why not call them "Duplex Inlets"or just "Inlet" or "Plug in Thingys"LOL

Ob
Posted By: BigJohn Re: Receptacles - 12/24/06 04:36 PM
I was doing a rough-in a while back when I came across a 10-2 in a utility closet labeled "Fernis".

I got out my Sharpie and wrote 'em a message: "It's a darn good thing ya'll do electrical work better than you spell."

-John
Posted By: Rewired Re: Receptacles - 12/24/06 05:36 PM
Never mind spelling things wrong, my boss SAYS things wrong... Asked him to get a box of TAPCONS, but when he went into the supplier he asked for a box of TAMPONS...
Took a while but he got what I wanted
( and no it was NOT a box of "plugs" either)!

A.D
Posted By: BigJohn Re: Receptacles - 12/24/06 05:45 PM
Quote
...My boss SAYS things wrong.
Ever had someone call a wall sconce a "scone"? One morning I heard them announce we'd gotten a box of scones and I got all excited thinking I was getting a free breakfast.

In their defense for the better part of six months I called all-thread "off thread" because that's what it sounded like everyone was saying.

-John
Posted By: Sixer Re: Receptacles - 12/24/06 05:55 PM
[Linked Image] [Linked Image] [Linked Image] Rewired

BigJohn, one of my customers calls them "scones" too, and no matter how many times I correct them they still call them that.

How many times have you had someone say 2-way switch instead of 3-way?
Posted By: RODALCO Re: Receptacles - 12/24/06 06:51 PM
I always get confused with COLOUR. (thats the way i spell it)
sometimes you see it spelled as COLOR as well.
I have heard that one is the American spelling and the other the English ??

(Battery).
In The Netherlands we call them Accu or accumulator. that is for the lead acid rechargeable starting accu's in vehicles and trucks.
A battery is a 1.5 volt zinc carbon pile which can be thrown away after use.
A cell is a 2 volt section of a 12 volts accu, or a nicad cell used in portable drills.
My $0.02 worth.
Posted By: Fred Re: Receptacles - 12/24/06 07:01 PM
I get a kick out of homeowners who say things wrong while trying to talk "trade" with me while I'm working for them. Such as, "Are you gonna run your riser through the soffagus?" or, "Do you install a lot of cam lights?" and my favorite, "Do I need all of the knobby tube wiring replaced in my attic?".
Posted By: mxslick Re: Receptacles - 12/24/06 07:24 PM
For my end of the biz, the biggest offenders are:

"socket" for sprocket

"internnment" or "interrmettant" for intermittent (The part of the projector that steps each frame into the projection position and holds it steady while being flashed onto the screen) And yeah, I do tend to spell it both as "intermittent" and "intermittant" [Linked Image]

"Zenon" or "Neon" for xenon (the most common projection bulb in use today)

Oh, and on that: It is a Xenon bulb that goes into the lamp (or lamphouse). The folks who do live theater get into a twist because for thier lighting, the source is always a "lamp", never a "bulb."

Oh yeah, and it's theatre for cinema and theater for the stage and live shows. Major peeve of mine. [Linked Image]

"Projectionists do it at 24fps." [Linked Image]
Posted By: wa2ise Re: Receptacles - 12/24/06 08:13 PM
Many times I'll just pick another word that I can spell rather than deal with a word that I can't get right, and with spellcheckers that can't seem to figure out what I wanted to spell. Here, I'd pick "outlet", or less accurately "wall plug". [Linked Image]
Posted By: iwire Re: Receptacles - 12/24/06 08:24 PM
Quote
Oh, and on that: It is a Xenon bulb that goes into the lamp (or lamphouse). The folks who do live theater get into a twist because for thier lighting, the source is always a "lamp", never a "bulb."

Landscapers, Florists and homeowners work with 'bulbs'.

Electricians work with lamps. [Linked Image]
Posted By: pauluk Re: Receptacles - 12/24/06 09:04 PM
Quote
I always get confused with COLOUR. (thats the way i spell it)
sometimes you see it spelled as COLOR as well.
I have heard that one is the American spelling and the other the English ??
In modern-day usage, color is the more usual American spelling and colour the British, but there's more to it than that. The word derives from the Latin coloris, and thus color more accurately reflects the origin. Colour came by way of the French influence from couleur, which, of course, was itself derived from Latin.

So although many Brits (myself excepted, naturally! [Linked Image] ) tend to look upon color as a case of "ignorant Americans corrupting the language" the truth is that both versions were once used here. Over time, color came to be the preferred spelling in America, thanks in part to Mr. Noah Webster and his famous dictionary, while colour came to be the preferred form in England.

The same applies to favor vs. favour, neighbor vs. neighbour, etc. There are inconsistencies in standard accepted British spellings though, e.g. honour, honoured, honouring, but honorary.

A similar situation exists with "zee" vs. "zed" for the last letter of the alphabet. Although most people in England think of "zee" as being of American origin, both were in common use here during the 17th century.

Many spellings, grammatical constructions and usages which are regarded as "Americanisms" here today are, in fact, the older British forms, such as the use of gotten, another "Americanism" which is frequently criticized in Britain.

The -ize vs. -ise issue is relatively recent in linguistic terms. Again, I've met many people here who regard realize, recognize, etc. as being "ugly American corruptions," but the British forms realise, recognise etc. didn't really take hold until well into the 20th century. The 1930 King's English Dictionary still lists the -ize forms as standard with -ise shown as acceptable variants in the addendum.

Although -ise became the more common spelling in recent decades, the -ize ending was still preferred by some publishers until just a few years ago, even if not today (including Pitman and several other "heavy duty" technical publishing houses). The original -ize endings most accurately reflect the Greek suffix -izo, while, once again, the -ise forms came by way of French (e.g. réaliser = to realize).

Quote
(Battery).
In The Netherlands we call them Accu or accumulator. that is for the lead acid rechargeable starting accu's in vehicles and trucks.
A battery is a 1.5 volt zinc carbon pile which can be thrown away after use.
A cell is a 2 volt section of a 12 volts accu, or a nicad cell used in portable drills.
Accumulator was widely used in England at one time, especially to refer to the individual lead-acid cells which were used to run the filaments of tubes in home radios. Back in the day, every radio shop would take in accumulators for recharging.

On battery vs. cell, strictly speaking a battery is a combination of two of more cells. In everyday speech though, battery is often used loosely to refer to either a single cell or a proper battery of multiple cells.


[This message has been edited by pauluk (edited 12-24-2006).]
Posted By: macmikeman Re: Receptacles - 12/24/06 11:44 PM
And I have gotten scolded for spelling light , lite many times by my peers who are native born. I learned to spell sofa this way- Chesterfield. And I learned to spell napkins this way- serviettes. I used to get A's in spelling in grammer and high school, but so seldom used the stuff until electrical forums came along. Now its all in the remembererering.
Posted By: electure Re: Receptacles - 12/25/06 12:26 AM
Quote
Ever had someone call a wall sconce a "scone"?

Yes, at the place that writes the standards, the highly educated IEEE. I told her that I might be able to get them some doughnuts much easier.

It's a peeve of mine that guys will use materials with "DO NOT USE FOR" written right on the outside for just what they say not to use them for.
Posted By: mxslick Re: Receptacles - 12/25/06 04:51 AM
Quote
Landscapers, Florists and homeowners work with 'bulbs'.

Electricians work with lamps.

Guess that makes me a flower boy then. [Linked Image]
Posted By: Texas_Ranger Re: Receptacles - 12/26/06 11:50 AM
Spell checkers aren't wothout danger either... I never used the English version, but the German version of the Word 2000 spell checker will most definitely offer you words that simply arem't words! With most misspelled words you'll get one or two correct words, one of which is usually the one you intended to use, but also at least one or two non-existing nonsense words.
For example turning the US minister of foreign affairs into a US minister for Russian affairs... (I'm dead serious and it was a freshly installed software and nobody had messed with the dictionary!)... but while that doesn't make sense it's still a word. However, Word is also known for offering words you won't ever find in any dictionary, like "vorhubergehend"...

Let me tell an old joke... A man comes to the display of a computer store and reads a sign: "Microsoft spel chekar vor sail. Worgs grate!" [Linked Image]
Posted By: mahlere Re: Receptacles - 12/26/06 12:37 PM
Originally Posted by iwire

Landscapers, Florists and homeowners work with 'bulbs'.

Electricians work with lamps.


This is not verified, but I was recently told by one of the counter guys in a supply house (who claims to have taken a class about it) that when we install it into a fixture (fluorescent, HID, etc) its called a "lamp". But when installed into a table lamp or the like, it's called a "light bulb"

Now, I have not even thought about verifying this, but it seems to fit into the conversation.
Posted By: ghost307 Re: Receptacles - 12/26/06 01:49 PM
I pick on Architects all the time when I see them specify "flour scent" lighting. I even had a fantastically good laugh when the building's owner wanted 3400 degree lamps; and the Architette (yes, blonde) asked if we needed more air conditioning if the lights were going to be that hot.

But it's not just our humble trade...my sister (the nurse) told me of another stupid design decision.

A patient came in with a heart-related issue and was diagnosed with "end of life".

It seems that the battery was wearing out in their pacemaker and some ^$&(% idiot decided that "low battery" wasn't what he wanted the diagnostic readout screen to say.
Posted By: gfretwell Re: Receptacles - 12/26/06 03:57 PM
Quote
This is not verified, but I was recently told by one of the counter guys in a supply house (who claims to have taken a class about it) that when we install it into a fixture (fluorescent, HID, etc) its called a "lamp".

When my kid put a lamp in a "fixture" it plugged it up and we had to get a plumber.

I told him lamps go in luminaires. [Linked Image]

A am still having problems with "luminaire" but I do use "lamp holder" for that socket you put lamps in.

Luminaires still sounds like one of those skinny tie singing groups from the 50s.
"Tonight on Ed Sullivan, Lamp Socket and the Luminaires"
Posted By: SolarPowered Re: Receptacles - 12/26/06 05:23 PM
I note that the word "luminaire" doesn't even exist in my dictionary, The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition copyright 1992 by Houghton Mifflin Company. It would seem that "luminaire" is a made-up word for the NEC.

[This message has been edited by SolarPowered (edited 12-26-2006).]
Posted By: Theelectrikid Re: Receptacles - 12/26/06 05:35 PM
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/luminaire

Ian A.
Posted By: PCBelarge Re: Receptacles - 12/26/06 09:42 PM
How about ... incandescent

I see a lot of people spelling it as incadescent.
Posted By: e57 Re: Receptacles - 12/27/06 02:31 AM
I believe we owe our spelling (US v. Euro) to this guy , and his political agenda.
Posted By: pauluk Re: Receptacles - 12/27/06 05:34 PM
Quote
It would seem that "luminaire" is a made-up word for the NEC.
The NEC folks probably latched on to it as sounding more "international." Luminaire has been used by the British IEE Wiring Regs. for some years now. I think it was introduced with the 15th Edition, 1981.
Posted By: iwire Re: Receptacles - 12/27/06 05:57 PM
I used to work on a large piece of German Equipment made in the early 70s.

The control panel switch for the lighting was labeled "Luminaires"
Posted By: jdevlin Re: Receptacles - 12/28/06 04:11 PM
I used to work on KERN mailing equipment. The parts manuals were all in German. I don't think they know what a space is when naming parts.
A speed control for motor to drive a chain would have name like motorchainindrivinspeedcontrul.

[This message has been edited by jdevlin (edited 12-28-2006).]
Posted By: kale Re: Receptacles - 12/28/06 10:19 PM
Technically, what we call a "battery", (D, C, AA, etc.)is in reality a "cell" (for example a dry cell.) A battery is a combination of cells used together to form a unit.

And cell is easier to spell. [Linked Image]
Posted By: JoeTestingEngr Re: Receptacles - 12/29/06 12:02 AM
mxslick:
"internnment" or "interrmettant" for intermittent (The part of the projector that steps each frame into the projection position and holds it steady while being flashed onto the screen) And yeah, I do tend to spell it both as "intermittent" and "intermittant"

I think we just called it the "gate" at the TV station.
Joe
Posted By: JoeTestingEngr Re: Receptacles - 12/29/06 02:06 AM
For batteries, I tend to think of the battery as the package and the cell(s) as the structure or guts. In other words, a 6 volt lantern battery has 4, 1.5 volts cells connected in series and formed into a roughly rectangular battery package.
Joe
Posted By: EV607797 Re: Receptacles - 12/29/06 07:54 AM
Just George busted me big time. There I go throwing rocks and making the same type of mistake myself. I apologize to any who were offended! Nice catch - a typical fat fingering on the keyboard, or at least that will be my excuse.

Interestingly, this brings up a joke my former boss and I had with my helper who was easily twice my age. He marked all of the cables he pulled to the panel, one was marked "liveing rum" and the other "wash manc". Sad that we found such humor since in the end, we knew what he meant to say.

[This message has been edited by EV607797 (edited 12-29-2006).]
Posted By: Alan Nadon Re: Receptacles - 12/29/06 10:13 PM
In the old days of engines, that had distributor caps, the mechanics all refered to the capacitor as a condensor.
There is also a tendency umong many to call an engine a motor.
Guess that started with "What size engine do you have in that motorcycle". [Linked Image]
Alan--
Posted By: livetoride Re: Receptacles - 12/29/06 11:27 PM
That would be 1500cc,1300cc,1100cc and 80 cui engines with 12v starter motors Allen =8^) Rod
Posted By: iwire Re: Receptacles - 12/30/06 12:36 AM
Quote
There is also a tendency umong many to call an engine a motor.

Why not?

Websters
Quote
Main Entry: 1mo·tor
Pronunciation: 'mO-t&r
Function: noun
Etymology: Latin, from movEre to move

1 : one that imparts motion; specifically : PRIME MOVER

2 : any of various power units that develop energy or impart motion: as a : a small compact engine b : INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE; especially : a gasoline engine c : a rotating machine that transforms electrical energy into mechanical energy

3 : MOTOR VEHICLE; especially : AUTOMOBILE
- mo·tor·dom /-d&m/ noun
- mo·tor·less /-l&s/ adjective
Posted By: pauluk Re: Receptacles - 12/30/06 02:43 PM
Quote
I used to work on a large piece of German Equipment made in the early 70s.

The control panel switch for the lighting was labeled "Luminaires"
It seems that the British IEE's adoption of luminaire was to bring us into line with some supposed European standard. The 15th Edition of our Wiring Regs. in 1981 was the first which was modeled on a common European format.

I'm still waiting for somebody to come up with any sort of logical explanation for adopting luminaire to "conform" with European nomenclature when we all speak different languages anyway..... [Linked Image]

Quote
In the old days of engines, that had distributor caps, the mechanics all refered to the capacitor as a condensor.
Or a condenser. [Linked Image]

That's the old name which was in use before capacitor. If you look back at any early radio manual you'll find that it refers to condensers rather than capacitors.

Quote
There is also a tendency umong many to call an engine a motor.
That's not so common in British usage. Over here though, motor is sometimes used as a colloquialism for a complete car (i.e. "motor car"), e.g.

"He just bought himself a nice motor."

The usage is somewhat regional and often regarded as rather "downmarket" though.
Posted By: Texas_Ranger Re: Receptacles - 12/31/06 11:47 AM
The condensor/condenser thing is very similar to the German word Kondensator (piece of Trivia: German is the only language I know that regards nouns as names and spells them upper case first letter).
Posted By: pauluk Re: Receptacles - 12/31/06 03:41 PM
Quote
German is the only language I know that regards nouns as names and spells them upper case first letter
I did German for a while in school (sorry to say I've forgotten most of it now [Linked Image] ), and it always looked as though it had a lot of surplus capital letters!

But as mentioned already, those terms made by just joining three, four, or ten other words together really look intimidating.

I seem to recall learning a massive German word which translated as "speed limit."
Posted By: mxslick Re: Receptacles - 12/31/06 06:52 PM
I work with a pair of Kinoton 35mm projectors at UC Irvine in So. California. They are made in Germany and the manuals and data plates are in German. I've had to learn a few new words: [Linked Image]

Tonformatumschaltung = Sound Format
Projektoren = Projector
Bildformate = lens format (?)
Objektivrevolver = lens turret
Bildmaskenwechslern = aperture changer
Xenonkurzbogenlampe = Xenon lamp (I may have that spelled wrong..)

(All above come from the translations in the service manuals.)

There's more, but you get the idea. It has been quite educational.
Posted By: iwire Re: Receptacles - 12/31/06 07:35 PM
Quote
I may have spelled that wrong

How can you tell? [Linked Image]

[This message has been edited by iwire (edited 12-31-2006).]
Posted By: Mr. Ed Re: Receptacles - 01/01/07 02:12 AM
How come youse guys axe such tuff tings?
Posted By: PEdoubleNIZZLE Re: Receptacles - 01/02/07 06:00 AM
Disclaimer: I am not talking to anyone in particular, just sharing a few thoughts.

I belong to a flight discussion board where people start flame wars because of improper grammar or spelling. I agree that you should use good grammar and spelling, but forums aren't an English lesson. As long as I can understand what someone is saying, it's okay with me. If I can't understand, I'll ask them to try to explain it again. It gets annoying when I open a thread and it's followed by 10 posts that people are critiquing grammar, rather than answering a question.

This site is one of the best when it comes to not pointing out small stuff.

Of course, I have my English follies, such as using "i" instead of "I," or missing a key when I type, or switching letters (spennilg instead of spelling).

As far as spelling receptacles, it might seem weird that someone doesn't know how to spell something they use every day, but sometimes people are oblivious to the fact that they are spelling something wrong, because it looks right to them.

After all, when I was in first grade and I didn't know how to spell something out, I was told to "sound it out" it works okay for words like cat and dog, but try to spell out "asthma" and you might get "azma" or school would become skool.

I got a spell checker on my Firefox, and it's amazing how many words I miss, mostly because of a typo or missing a key.

Just some food for thought.
Posted By: Elviscat Re: Receptacles - 01/02/07 07:14 AM
I'll cast my two cents on this issue.

there's a diference between "coloquial" english and "formal" english. first let me say that I'm in an Advanced Placement English class, and enjoy, and one of my foremost hobbies is reading literature. if I was writing an esay or formal paper, I would use "formal" grammer, spelling, and syntax, however in everyday usage spelling and grammer mistakes are just fine, and actually often become commonly used enough to become "proper" I think we can all agree that this is a social, unformal forum, so why focus on good spelling and grammer as long as everyone can understand.
it's of course diferent when interacting with customers, as spelling mistakes look unprofesional.

as for the "looking at boxes of them every day" just because we look at something, or use something every day does not mean we pay attention to, or absorb it, i.e. who here, can tell me without looking, what markings a Carlon Non-Metallic old work box has?

dat jus' be my oh-so humble opin-e-on
-Will
Posted By: Alan Belson Re: Receptacles - 01/05/07 11:20 PM
I can usually identify posters by their spelling or grammar without looking at the name. Mark [E57] usually writes thier, or recepticle. Mike [Trumpy] practically always double-punctuates a question or exclamation mark with a full stop or comma, [!. or ?,], and likes to use new lines a lot, like;
Now,

This is all part of how we try to write at speed to keep up with the flow of thought. It's of no importance at all if it's comprehensible. Me? I try to use American spellings as far as possible, so as to not grate on the majority of readers, and I have a habit of using 2 full stops after abreviations, like etc.., one for the abreviation, and one to end the sentence. Just part of being brainwashed at school, [ getting caned for getting it the slightest bit wrong ], I guess, just like Pavlov's dogs!
Posted By: Scott35 Re: Receptacles - 01/06/07 01:05 AM
Quote

Recepticles

I like this spelling of Receptacles, as it implies they like to be tickled!
[Linked Image]

< enter wav file of cheesy snare roll >
Taaah-Takka, Caaa-Takka-Takkaa... T-TahhK!!!
< end cheesy snare roll >
... end the roll with a nice heavy Flam!

... Thank you Ladies and Gentlemen, now for my next number...

Just wanted to throw in the cheese-related tickle thing!

Scott35
AKA: The Public Enemy #1 Spelling and Grammer Offender!
(Worst in Spelling, Grammer, etc. of the ECN Members!).

p.s. Anyone want to hear the antiquated "Tickle-Me Elmo" joke?
It's a real bag-O' cheese!
Posted By: Alan Belson Re: Receptacles - 01/06/07 09:27 AM
That's cheesier than er... cheese! But tickle away, with another one,
Scott!.
Now,
How do you tell if a girl is ticklish?.
Why, you just see if a couple of test tickles makes her laugh!. [Linked Image]
Posted By: Wolfgang Re: Receptacles - 01/06/07 02:31 PM
Well, I must confess, from a German point of view, this forum looks rather dyslectic.
Posted By: RODALCO Re: Receptacles - 01/07/07 05:14 AM
Thanks pauluk for you detailed reply.

We have an interesting discussion going on here.

Colour, must be that bit of french in me to spell it that way.
Same applies to the other spelling.

This thread should have been called SPELLING WORDS [Linked Image] instead of receptacles.
Posted By: EV607797 Re: Receptacles - 01/07/07 05:29 AM
Great input to my original post. Thank you very much for your insight. I still have to ask the question though:

In order to graduate from high school in the United States, we are required to prove (through testing) that we understand and can communicate using "American" English. This means that we should be able to spell correctly.

Nobody is required to attend college here in the U.S.; it is completely optional. Everyone here must complete twelve years of free education where basic math, spelling and common sense are instilled.

It just seems crazy that the handful of items that we as contractors or installers deal with on a regular basis are so difficult to spell. I once got a promotion and a raise from my boss and part of my job was to correct errors on handwritten invoices. Why should he have had to pay me to do what any high school graduate should have been able to do on their own?
Posted By: NORCAL Re: Receptacles - 01/07/07 06:15 AM
["Nobody is required to attend college here in the U.S.; it is completely optional. Everyone here must complete twelve years of free education where basic math, spelling and common sense are instilled."]


Common sense??? I suspect that what is being produced in todays public schools,they would not have the good sense to find their way out of a wet paper bag.
Posted By: Trumpy Re: Receptacles - 01/07/07 06:52 AM
Alan,
Quote
Mike [Trumpy] practically always double-punctuates a question or exclamation mark with a full stop or comma, [!. or ?,], and likes to use new lines a lot, like;
Now,
And how exactly is that a problem?.
Alan, I'm not taking you to task or anything, I type as I was taught at school to use punctuation marks.
Imagine, if I never used punctuation marks at all?.
{There we go again}. [Linked Image]
A question-mark occurs at the end of a sentence that asks a question, which requires a full-stop after the question mark.
Double punctuation it might be, but have you ever seen any literary efforts where the full stop (period, to you American folks) has been left out at the end of a sentence?.
Posted By: Trumpy Re: Receptacles - 01/07/07 07:12 AM
One other thing,
Why is it that Generators are called this when applied to AC Alternators?.
Generators generate rectified DC.
With a commutator to effect the rectification.
People say that they have thier own Generator feeding thier house, does that mean that they are feeding thier house with DC?.
Posted By: e57 Re: Receptacles - 01/07/07 07:12 AM
"Mark [E57] usually writes thier, or recepticle."

Right and left fingers spell on thier own (see I did it again) - they have the "i before e, except after c" rule trained right into the movement. The later I have no excuse other than - 'you know what I mean...'

And receptacles - believe it or not is a word miss-spelled by many more than just us here - google a few variations....

Results 1 - 10 of about 65,500 for recepticles. (0.79 seconds)

Results 1 - 10 of about 24,800 for recepticals. (0.14 seconds)

Results 1 - 10 of about 912 for receptacals. (0.38 seconds)

Results 1 - 10 of about 5,430,000 for receptacles [definition]. (0.05 seconds)

Results 1 - 10 of about 141 for reseptacles. (0.14 seconds)

Feel lucky I dont write phonetically, like say Anthony Burgess, or Irvine Welsh as there are moments that my old Boston accent rears it ugly head.... Start sounding like James Cagney..... Kneah mon, dunt kear how yeah spellit.... [Linked Image]
Posted By: Alan Belson Re: Receptacles - 01/07/07 09:40 AM
Mike,reference {!. or ?.} - not bad, or even as far as I can tell wrong, just a "signature". Denise and I went to the same primary school, where the much feared Mrs Turner, of hated memory, instilled that "an exclamation or question mark already has a full stop.", reinforcing her dictum with a wooden ruler welted across one's knuckles. Pavlov again! So, it all depends on who taught you and when. Fashions in language change with every generation- the latest fad I hate is the ridiculous reply "I'm good!" if you ask someone if they would like a coffee!

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...this forum looks rather dyslectic.

Wolfgang, dyslexia; from Greek: dys = bad, and Greek: lexis = word:
Acute difficulty in reading and spelling caused by a condition in the brain. We must all have this condition to a certain extent, since we continue to misspell words even after being corrected.
The correct spelling is dyslexic, BTW! [Linked Image]

Rod; yes, it's fashion rearing its colourful head again! [ Notice the correct difference between it's and its, in terms of abbreviation and ownership? ]. Anything French being considered fashionable just at the point [18C-19C] when spelling became important for mass printing. As Mark has pointed out, Webster went one way [ie. traditional], we went the other, led by the same sort of control-freaks who are forcing PC down our gullets today.

Fingers crossed, no mistakes!

Alan

Edit mistake! Bolleaux! [Linked Image]



[This message has been edited by Alan Belson (edited 01-07-2007).]
Posted By: Wolfgang Re: Receptacles - 01/07/07 01:29 PM
@ Alan: Of course I checked that before, and found http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/dyslectic
telling me that there might be this (dyslexic?) variant in spelling. So for this specific topic it was sort of ideal to demonstrate the situation of the English language. In order to really be able to spell correctly you have to know some etymology, Latin and French, otherwise you get lost.

@ Trumpy: "generator" in Latin is the guy who by means of his "testes" generates a new generation. It does not tell you anything about AC or DC. In German the word "Alternator" is unknown. Latin "alternare" means "to change", to "switch forward and back" but not to generate in any form.

[This message has been edited by Wolfgang (edited 01-07-2007).]
Posted By: iwire Re: Receptacles - 01/07/07 02:04 PM
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Why should he have had to pay me to do what any high school graduate should have been able to do on their own?

People are different, not everyone picks up spelling and grammar as well as others.

People that know me are often surprised by memory about my job, the code or the trades in general.

I can tell you circuit numbers from jobs I did long ago, I can remember all kinds of methods and materials. But I can not remember when to use 'than or then' or how to spell receptacles.

I can recognize the manufacturer of a piece of equipment but I can not put a name to a persons face.

I try to use correct spelling and grammar but the fact that I goof up is not going to keep me from posting. [Linked Image]
Posted By: pauluk Re: Receptacles - 01/07/07 04:55 PM
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I type as I was taught at school to use punctuation marks.
Interesting. I was always taught that if a sentence ends with a question mark or exclamation point, then you should not add a period as well. I wonder if this is a Kiwi thing?

Here's another punctuation issue which seems to divide opinion. Look at these two sentences:

"The sky is blue," he said.

"The sky is blue", he said.

I would always write it the first way, with the comma inside the quote, but some people maintain that it should be the second way.

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Why is it that Generators are called this when applied to AC Alternators?.

An alternator is a generator. My understanding of the terms:

Alternator = A device which produces alternating current

Dynamo = A device which produces direct current (albeit commutated power which looks like AC with every other half-cycle reversed)

Generator = A general term which can refer to either an AC or DC-producing machine.

Thus an alternator is a generator, but a generator is not necessarily an alternator.
Posted By: pauluk Re: Receptacles - 01/07/07 05:03 PM
While on the subject of spelling and grammar, when I lived in Lincolnshire there was a school in a nearby town which was called the King Edward VI Grammar School. Outside one of the entrances was a beautiful polished brass plaque. It looked very nice, except for the fact that it said "King Edward VI Grammer School." Oh dear! Not a very good advertisement for a school!

I have no idea if the signs are still there or not, but many moons ago on the outskirts of north London you could drive along a road and watch the spelling change at each intersection. In some places it was "Wagon Road" and in others "Waggon Road." (It used to join up with Stag Hill, for any English readers familiar with the Cockfosters area.)
Posted By: yaktx Re: Receptacles - 01/09/07 02:59 AM
I once worked in a plant where the foreman handed out printed decals for all of the electricians to put on their tool carts. The one he handed to me had my name, the designation of the part of the plant, and "Electricans". I informed him I was not going to put that label on my cart, lest people think I can't spell my own occupation.

And no, spell check is not a solution.
Posted By: SteveFehr Re: Receptacles - 01/09/07 11:45 AM
i always spell rite! Well, at least when posting from home. Stupid restrictions at the office [Linked Image]
http://www.iespell.com/
Posted By: Tinkerer Re: Receptacles - 01/11/07 11:33 PM
Mark Twain has been quoted as saying the following:
"Anyone who can only think of one way to spell a word obviously lacks imagination."
"I don't give a damn for a man that can only spell a word one way."
Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)

Having been a very poor speller all of my life I appreciate this enlightened attitude.
Posted By: Texas_Ranger Re: Receptacles - 01/13/07 08:10 PM
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Xenonkurzbogenlampe = Xenon lamp (I may have that spelled wrong..)

No, perfectly correct.
They did shorten the translation quite a bit... fully translated it would be Xenon short arc lamp. Xenon lamp in german would be Xenonlampe.
Posted By: InspectorE Re: Receptacles - 01/13/07 08:29 PM
Although I enjoy the english language, I have no problems with folks misspelling things on a group like this....it's kind of like not getting upset when you see all sorts of non-existent words on the newspaper sports page.


The non-sports part of the paper should be checked more closely. Spell checker is a start, but only a start. I can generally find a half dozen or more errors in any daily newspaper. I doubt that much proofreading is done these days.


When I was in the army in Korea, a captain had a sign on the wall "Have you reached your level of incompetance?". I pointed out the wrongly spelled word and he said he had that sign up 5 years and I was the first person to notice it.

Frank
Posted By: Trumpy Re: Receptacles - 01/13/07 10:20 PM
To be honest folks,
the words that catch me out all the time are rather simple ones, especially those that use the letters i and e in them:
  • Thier/Their.
  • Wieght/Weight.
  • Hieght/Height.
  • Recieve/Receive.


It's a real nuisance!.
Posted By: pauluk Re: Receptacles - 01/13/07 11:27 PM
"I before E except after C."

Except, of course, that three out of the four examples Mike quoted are exceptions to the rule! [Linked Image]
Posted By: electure Re: Receptacles - 01/14/07 01:28 AM
"I before E, except after C, or when sounded as A, as in neighbor or weigh"

How wierd [Linked Image]
Posted By: Texas_Ranger Re: Receptacles - 01/14/07 07:49 PM
I offer another exception (which is admittedly a VERY common typo and I have made it myself): cieling.

One of my German pet peeves is Maschiene instead of Maschine (machine). Schiene means track or rail... if I read that I usually comment: "No, your washing machine is in no way related to railway or any other tracks [Linked Image]
Posted By: Wolfgang Re: Receptacles - 01/14/07 09:54 PM
@trumpy:

And I already started a thread last year on www.leo.org to figure whether this downunder "thier" is a common variant due to the kiwi vowel shift phenomenon that I had just heard of before (being not a native speaker). [Linked Image]
Posted By: pauluk Re: Receptacles - 01/16/07 12:08 AM
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I offer another exception (which is admittedly a VERY common typo and I have made it myself): cieling.

Interestingly though, ciel is the French for "sky," which is kind of related.
Posted By: Texas_Ranger Re: Receptacles - 01/16/07 10:28 PM
Indeed, yet the French word for ceiling is plafond... (which used to be very common in Austria half a decade ago).
Posted By: renosteinke Re: Receptacles - 01/16/07 10:36 PM
Like a lot of you, I surf a variety of forums, covering a range of topics. Many of these other forums (fori? [Linked Image] ) have spell checkers for your posts.

I find the one at Fine Homebuilding to be the best ... I used to think I was a poor typist; now I KNOW I am! I can only hope ECN will someday have such a feature.


(Silly typo fixed - thanks TR!)

[This message has been edited by renosteinke (edited 01-17-2007).]
Posted By: Texas_Ranger Re: Receptacles - 01/17/07 02:04 PM
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I can only dope ECN will someday have such a feature.
Indeed [Linked Image]

On the other hand, on board I frequently use forced(!) a spell check on its users for some time... and most of them hated it! I think this was mostly courtesy of one guy who absolutely doesn't pay attention to what he's typing. Compared to THAT guy, everybody here should get an award for perfect spelling and grammar, so if we had him over here that discussion would be completely pointless... or, in dry words, I don't think we have anyone with real sloppy spelling here.

In the other hand, I absolutely don't mind one or another friendly or funny remark about misspelled words and ask everybody not to be offended by such comments but take it as an appreciation of their work and of language!
To put it in poetic words: if someone is pointing out mistakes in your post at least s/he read it!

Edit: nobody is perfect [Linked Image]

[This message has been edited by Texas_Ranger (edited 01-18-2007).]
Posted By: pauluk Re: Receptacles - 01/17/07 03:10 PM
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I absolutely don't mind one or another freindly or funny remark about misspelled words

^^^^ That's good then! [Linked Image]

That does remind me of the flyers that the local taxi company had printed a couple of years ago. It seems that nobody noticed the typo until about a thousand had been printed:

FAST & FIENDLY SERVICE

I can just imagine it:

"Yes, Sir, thank you for your booking. Your driver today will be Egor....." [Linked Image]
Posted By: Luketrician Re: Receptacles - 01/17/07 03:30 PM
LMAO!
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