tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377709913595182916.post1731627474169202220..comments2024-03-14T10:31:26.918+00:00Comments on DCblog: On enquiring about inquiryDChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10192779827863835310noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377709913595182916.post-50439987880634752452012-03-08T03:06:31.880+00:002012-03-08T03:06:31.880+00:00To lpf-20 on an HMRC enquiry: it is directed at th...To lpf-20 on an HMRC enquiry: it is directed at the tax affairs of one person/organisation, right? So "enquiry" is fine. It's also less accusatory, as if they're just "asking a few questions" about tax compliance.<br /><br />"Inquiry" is investigative and is more about a wide-reaching, quasi-political issue, e.g. the Leveson inquiry. It implies that something has been done wrong and that's a fairly well established fact.Alexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01773966173117509466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377709913595182916.post-27669090500053217962011-09-28T18:00:56.270+00:002011-09-28T18:00:56.270+00:00I have always used insure in the sense 'make s...I have always used <i>insure</i> in the sense 'make sure', and consider the supposed <i>insure/ensure</i> distinction silly. (I know about the technical BrE distinction between <i>insurance</i> and <i>assurance</i> companies, but as an AmE speaker I don't use it myself.)John Cowanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11452247999156925669noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377709913595182916.post-44251397906042897642011-08-30T09:07:13.953+00:002011-08-30T09:07:13.953+00:00Context is crucial. Even if I used enquiryas a rul...Context is crucial. Even if I used <i>enquiry</i>as a rule, I would have to spell the name of the journal <i>Linguistic Inquiry</i>. But context aside, the important thing is stylistic consistency. When we notice both spellings in the same piece of text, and there is no contextual reason for the variation, a common reaction is to consider the writer to be careless or sloppy, which can in turn make readers suspicious about the accuracy of the content. My advise would be: whichever spelling one goes for, use it consistently.DChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10192779827863835310noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377709913595182916.post-60693240273339105442011-08-29T08:59:56.375+00:002011-08-29T08:59:56.375+00:00If both can be used interchangeably, I beg to ask,...If both can be used interchangeably, I beg to ask, what if an individual used both in the same area of text? Would one be marked automatically as incorrect and the other correct? Or would the use of either depend on the context each are written in?cass...https://www.blogger.com/profile/14471358369981681393noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377709913595182916.post-63507865971960838152011-07-26T17:13:28.148+00:002011-07-26T17:13:28.148+00:00Many (or most?) British newspaper stylebooks have ...Many (or most?) British newspaper stylebooks have tried to maintain a difference between the official inquiry and the casual enquiry, though, as you have demonstrated, with little justification.Terry Collmannhttp://zythophile.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377709913595182916.post-30762688482438126542011-07-22T14:33:26.684+00:002011-07-22T14:33:26.684+00:00I'm sure most people would also disagree - inc...I'm sure most people would also disagree - including me - as there are so many examples to the contrary. As I said, it is a view that originated with prescriptive grammarians.DChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10192779827863835310noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377709913595182916.post-89363412299027453582011-07-22T14:25:26.456+00:002011-07-22T14:25:26.456+00:00I'm not sure I agree with the assertion that f...I'm not sure I agree with the assertion that formal investigations should use the i- form. Note that when HM Revenue & Customs raise an enquiry they do so using the e- form and this is how the word is spelt in the relevant legislation.lpf20noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377709913595182916.post-46548271194309469232011-07-16T07:58:29.053+00:002011-07-16T07:58:29.053+00:00Good point to raise the pronunciation issue. Thjs ...Good point to raise the pronunciation issue. Thjs must be a factor in the AmE preference for <i>inquiry</i> too, with stress commonly on the first syllable.DChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10192779827863835310noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377709913595182916.post-33833564341519480562011-07-15T22:08:29.047+00:002011-07-15T22:08:29.047+00:00I'm sure it's right to say, as you do, &qu...I'm sure it's right to say, as you do, " for most people, the forms are ... influenced by such factors as region, house style, and institutional preference, but not by anything semantic".<br />I fancy I've noticed a regional contrast in that in the north of England it seems that a notice like INQUIRIES will more likely to so appear whereas it's more likely to be found as ENQUIRIES in the south. I suggest this has a relationship to regional pronunciation patterns at my website Section 7.4.13 at http://@yek.me.uk.Jack Windsor Lewishttp://@yek.me.uk.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8377709913595182916.post-7950708251708409532011-07-15T15:09:52.125+00:002011-07-15T15:09:52.125+00:00"The i- forms should refer to impersonal, for..."The <i>i-</i> forms should refer to impersonal, formal investigations, it was recommended, whereas the <i>e-</i> forms should be used only for personal questions, and doubtless many people tried to make their usage conform to this distinction."<br /><br />This distinction maps rather nicely onto the difference between two American papers: the <i>National Enquirer</i> is a sensationalist supermarket tabloid, while the <i>Philadelphia Inquirer</i> is a respectable big-city broadsheet. But that particular contrasting pair is probably a historical accident. <br /><br />The "<i>i</i>=formal" pattern also seems to hold in the fact that we have no <i>e-</i> forms for <i>inquest</i> or <i>inquisition</i> in PDE. Historically, I suppose, these words would have been used in contexts where the connection to Latin was strong, and the French <i>e-</i> spelling might have had less influence.Q. Pheevrhttp://q-pheevr.livejournal.com/noreply@blogger.com