4 posts tagged “language”

There are roughly 2,500 pages indexed by Google which contain "obstensively". Few enough to lead a smart person to conclude that the word may not be spelled right, but more than enough to thwart attempts to use the misspelling to find the correct spelling. "Obstensively", the word we're all reaching for in this case is ostensibly.

Main Entry: os·ten·si·bly

Pronunciation: \-blē\

Function: adverb

Date: 1765

1 : in an ostensible manner
2 : to all outward appearances

From ostensible. . .

Main Entry: os·ten·si·ble 

Pronunciation: \ä-ˈsten(t)-sə-bəl, ə-\

Function: adjective

Etymology: French, from Latin ostensus, past participle of ostendere to show, from obs-, ob- in the way + tendere to stretch — more at ob-, thin

Date: circa 1771

1 : intended for display : open to view 2 : being such in appearance : plausible rather than demonstrably true or real <the ostensible purpose for the trip>

synonyms see apparent

I'm still quite amazed how fast responses come on the internet. Wherefore this post is not yet a half-day old and the daring John Gruber has already linked back to it. Of course he shouldn't feel too bad over thinking wherefore means where. I'm not going to give hard numbers based on this but using Google Blog Search, I get only about two or three post per result page where wherefore is used correctly (including sites where I would expect much better, like the Huffington Post.). In its credit, the first several results from Google's main web search are in fact pages to educate on the correct meaning of wherefore. Unfortunately though, Gruber's piece is the 5th result due in part to his popularity as the go-to Apple blogger (as folks are linking to the good iPhone analysis), and perhaps in part to us linking to it as an example of a misuse of the word).

Figuring out why everybody thinks it means where is way above my abilities (This sounds like a job for Language Log!), but I suspect it is because it makes superficial sense. The Wherefore line are among her first words after she steps out onto her balcony, before she starts musing about her misfortune of falling in love with a Montague, or that he's a good man despite the name. Lacking context, it is very easy to see her asking where Romeo is, but even with the stanzas that follow, the "where is Romeo" interpretation doesn't stop making sense. So with wherefore's usage outside of Shakespeare plays, and legal documents hovering near nil, wherefore morphs into where in many minds.

That said, I should note it gets more fun as wherefore can mean because as well.

O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?

This line is probably the best known line from Romeo and Juliet, perhaps the best known of all Shakespeare's works. It probably is the most misunderstood line as well.

Deny thy father and refuse thy name;
Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,
And I'll no longer be a Capulet.

The house of Montague is in a long running feud with the Capulets, Juliet's family. So it's rather distressing to when Juliet when she discovers that that cute boy, Romeo, she became smitten with is one of the Montagues. To her, it's the height of cosmic unfairness when she discovers her romance is doomed before it can even start because the roulette wheel of fate slapped him with the name and family of her family's enemies. That line begins her musings on whether names and labels are so important.

What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;

So, the point is she wasn't asking where Romeo is. In that line at the beginning, she was asking rhetorically (and venting a little bit), why must he have been born Romeo Montague. Wherefore isn't the word "where" for people who need to fill out nine squares on a crossword puzzle. Wherefore is an archaic form of why?

John Gruber learned this yesterday when he titled an article, "iPhone SDK, iPhone SDK! Wherefore Art Thou iPhone SDK?"

I absolutely hate it when I misspell a word, and I know that I misspelled it, but I cannot find the correct spelling. The internet is terrible in some cases with this since some misspellings are so common, they rival the correct spelling in popularity. In some other cases, while the misspelling isn't near as widespread as the correct spelling, it is still used frequently enough so to not trigger Google's "Did You Mean" suggestion box.

Just to right the scales slightly, I will do this with a word I just misspelled and was compelled to find the correct spelling for.

Repertoire, not repretoir. Repertoire, repertoire, repertoire.

From Merriam Webster:

Main Entry: rep·er·toire
Pronunciation: 're-p&(r)-"twär
Function: noun
Etymology: French répertoire, from Late Latin repertorium
1 a : a list or supply of dramas, operas, pieces, or parts that a company or person is prepared to perform b : a supply of skills, devices, or expedients <part of the repertoire of a quarterback>; broadly : AMOUNT, SUPPLY <an endless repertoire of summer clothes> c : a list or supply of capabilities <the instruction repertoire of a computer>
2 a : the complete list or supply of dramas, operas, or musical works available for performance <our modern orchestral repertoire> b : the complete list or supply of skills, devices, or ingredients used in a particular field, occupation, or practice <the repertoire of literary criticism>