I am sometimes taken to task for my spelling of the word “retractible”. Today, a newly Assiduous Reader writes in and says:
I note that you use the term “Retractible” in your work. I believe the correct spelling is “Retractable”. See http://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=Special%3ASearch&search=retractible&go=Go
Well, I don’t think it’s as cut and dried as all that, and even if it’s not I won’t get too fussed. The great strength of English is that not only will we steal words from anybody, running amok like thugs, but there are so many English speakers nowadays that the very concept of the Queen’s English is obsolete (The Queen’s English? Anybody knows that!).
Indian English, for example, has something of a reputation for being “cute” (among other English speakers). I can’t remember any particular examples off-hand, but I’ll update this post if I do. There are similar views whenever languages diverge slightly – Swedes think Norwegian is cute. On the other hand, Frenchmen think Quebecois is hillbilly.
And, of course, language is always changing … I once totally impressed a linguistics grad by being familiar with the Great Vowel Shift … not as familiar as she was, of course, but let’s just say … it was a great date!
Anyway, after due consideration, I have decided that for now, my spelling of retractible is non-retractible. What’s more, it’s not just me being stubborn – I can back it up!
According to Random House:
Origin:
1535–45; < L retractāre to reconsider, withdraw, equiv. to re- re- + tractāre to drag, pull, take in hand (freq. of trahere to pull) Related forms: re⋅tract⋅a⋅ble, re⋅tract⋅i⋅ble, adjective re⋅tract⋅a⋅bil⋅i⋅ty, re⋅tract⋅i⋅bil⋅i⋅ty, noun re⋅trac⋅ta⋅tion
Pay attention to the derivation, it’s important!
According to the American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language
Latin retractāre, to revoke, frequentative of retrahere, to draw back : re-, re- + trahere, to draw. V., tr., senses 2 and 3, and v., intr., sense 2, Middle English retracten, from Old French retracter, from Latin retractus, past participle of retrahere.]
re·tract’a·bil’i·ty, re·tract’i·bil’i·ty n., re·tract’a·ble, re·tract’i·ble adj., re’trac·ta’tion
“Retractation” sounds like a good word! I think I’ll start using it!
Now, remember the derivation? From Latin? According to The English Club (I have no idea whether this should be considered an Authoritative Source or not, but I’m not sure if ANYBODY is an Authoritative Source):
-ible or -able
Many words end in -ible and -able. Sometimes it is difficult to remember which spelling to use.The -ible ending is for words of Latin origin. There are about 180 words ending in -ible. No new words are being created with -ible endings.
They don’t list “retractible” amongst their examples, but the key part is the “Latin Origin” – and “retract” is from Latin.
On the other hand, there’s a bit on the Ohio Literary Resource Center website (note that I have spelt the word “Centre” incorrectly, in accordance with their spelling) stating:
Adding the letters able or ible to a word or word part makes it an adjective. An adjective is used to describe a noun. In the sentence Macy had an adorable cat, able is added to adore in order to describe what kind of cat Macy had. Below is one basic rule for adding the able/ible endings. Study the rule and then complete the practice exercise.
Rule : add able to roots that can stand alone and ible to roots that cannot stand alone
return + able = returnable terr + ible = terrible
So take your choice! I have!
Update: I remembered my favourite example of Indian English! It was an ad for some service or other that claimed that having the company provide this service would reduce your botheration. Perfectly understandable, but I was taken aback by seeing the word in a formal ad. I once told a Russian girl I had been taken aback by something, which she was surprised at because some Americans she knew had told her quite emphatically that nobody was “taken aback” any more.
“Frenchmen think Quebecois is hillbilly”
Let’s straighten up this major point: Frenchmen think Quebecois is funny or sometimes confuse it (when a Quebecois makes the tiresome effort of pronoucing properly all syllabs and words of what he wants to say) with the French spoken in Belgium. The latter is kind of an insult considering that I have heard Frenchman making the same jokes with Belgium as the “Newfie” jokes we used to hear in the past (it might have something to do with the fact that Quebec was unjustly deprived of Labrador). The Truth (with a capital “T”) is that the French spoken in France either sounds:
a) erotic when spoken by a woman; or
b) terribly gay when spoken by a man.
I trust this helps… If not, I will be pleased to retract (or take back?) whatever I just wrote making anyone angry.
Well, well, well! You learn something new every day!
Somebody – was it Anthony Burgess? – got totally exasperated with the French attitude towards Quebecois and said something along the lines of “It’s just Norman French, split off from the 17th century! What’s the problem?”
If not, I will be pleased to retract (or take back?) whatever I just wrote making anyone angry.
Don’t worry about it Louis! The PrefBlog Human Rights Commission has ruled that anybody over the age of, say, 12, who is upset by what you wrote should be teased unmercifully until they cry.
There are indeed remnants of the XVIIe century even in the language spoken today (A frenchman will laugh when we say “C’est dispendieux” when they say “C’est cher” (both means expensive but the former does indeed have a post-mediaval flavour). Many of them also like to hear spoken French expressions such as (I’m not sure about the proper spelling here): “Se faire enffirwappé” and think such expressons must have some amerindian origin when the last word of that expression which means “to be the victim of a Madoff or Earl Jones” rather originates from an old English colonial trading expression: “In fur wrapped” whereby a snowslay load of fur could hide bad surprises for its buyer. Well spoken Quebecois is to French what North American English is to British. The problem is that fewer and fewer people spoke as time goes… Within 2 generations, Canada should be done with French. It is saddening but Darwinian I guess.
“C’est dispendieux”…“Se faire enffirwappé”
Dear Diary: Today I learned two new words. Thanks, Louis!