Release(d?)

[Pafra & Scott Catledge]

I would put "release time" in the same level of speech as "ice tea," "mash
potato," and "bake potato."
----- Original Message -----
From: Peter McGraw <pmcgraw at linfield.edu>
To: <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Sent: Thursday, August 12, 1999 11:32 AM
Subject: Release(d?)


> O.k., this isn't about dialects, but it is about American speech, and I
> hope some of you will indulge me by serving as linguistic guinea pigs.
>
> When, for example, an adjunct is hired to reduce the teaching load of a
> regular faculty member so that said regular can perform some other
> task, does your gut feeling as native speakers of American English
> prompt you to call the hours in question "released time" or "release
> time," or to accept both equally?  The same goes for space in an
> existing building when a department moves to a new building: Is it
> "released space," "release space" or either one?
>
> When I first encountered "release time" in writing, my first impulse
> was to edit it to "released time," but when I thought about it, I
> couldn't see why they weren't both equally valid, even if different,
> grammatical approaches to the same thing.
>
> (Obviously one factor at work is that most speakers would probably
> pronounce both the same--especially in the case of "-time"--and might
> analyze the underlying form either way for the purpose of representing
> it in writing.)
>
> Apart from the issue of Sprachgefuehl, does anyone have a sense of one
> or the other gaining the ascendency in written usage at present?  It
> seems to me that "release time" is probably gaining ground while my own
> "released time" is becoming somewhat old fashioned.  (You know you're
> getting old when....")
>
> Thanks for any reactions.
>
> Peter Mc.
>
> ----------------------
> Peter A. McGraw
> Linfield College
> McMinnville, Oregon
> pmcgraw at linfield.edu