GalacticCactus Forum
Forums => English & Linguistics => Topic started by: Porter on May 10, 2007, 09:08:51 AM
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Are there any general rules for negating a word in English? I wrote non-audible today, and only later realized that the correct form should be inaudible. Why is it inaudible instead of unaudible? I have no idea.
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Generally speaking, un- goes with English words, and in- goes with Latin words. There's a lot of overlap, though, probably because most people don't keep track of the origins of the words they use. have And then there's a-/an- which goes with Greek words, but there are a lot fewer of those in English. These prefixes usually give a word the opposite meaning, while non- usually implies simple negation. I'm sure there are logical terms that are used to differentiate these senses, but I've forgotten them.
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Generally speaking, un- goes with English words, and in- goes with Latin words.
Ugh. That's not terribly helpful because
most people don't keep track of the origins of the words they use.
Oh well, thanks. It's not like I really expected there to be a reasonable answer.
These prefixes usually give a word the opposite meaning, while non- usually implies simple negation.
Inaudible being a convenient exception. :)
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Yeah, sorry. There really aren't any simple guidelines unless you can easily spot a word's language of origin, and even then it's a mess, like with unjust and injustice. I'd say if you're not sure whether it should be in-/un- or non-, try one or both of the former first and see how that sounds.
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I know that in medical jargon, we use a- and an- lots. I guess because of the Greek thing. I always figured that it was to make the jargon more obscure to the uninitiated.
Ooh! Uninitiated! That's like a double-negative itiated!
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Sometimes in- just means in.
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Doubleplusungood.
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So, "untoward" would mean "adverse", but "intoward" would mean that you like Wally and Beaver's dad. Got it.