Orientate [was "the religious rite"]

[neil]

I always thought that to orient oneself, to be oriented, or to have an
orientation were UK usages.

Hence to orientate oneself, or to be orientated seemed an unnecessary
elaboration of the original short-form -- the qualification orientated
seeming a back-formation from the noun orientation.

However I discovered to my chagrin that those were not  US imports but a
long-established UK usages.


> From: "Arnold M. Zwicky" <zwicky at CSLI.STANFORD.EDU>
> Reply-To: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2006 14:49:40 -0700
> To: <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Subject: Re: "the religious rite"
>
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Arnold M. Zwicky" <zwicky at CSLI.STANFORD.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: "the religious rite"
>
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>
> On Oct 25, 2006, at 2:26 PM, Beverly Flanigan wrote:
>
>> My understanding is that "orientate" is the preferred form in Britain?
>
> MWDEU says, cautiously, that it's "much more frequently used in
> British English than it is in American".  with cites from reputable
> folks, like Auden, Huxley, Leavis, Robins, and Quirk.  by now it
> might actually be the preferred form.
>
>> And
>> I've heard "mentee" too.
>
> it's unfortunately useful.
>
>> At 05:04 PM 10/25/2006, you wrote:
>>> Regarding another construction in the quoted sentence: "Orientate"
>>> is very
>>> common--more so than "conversate," I'd say...
>
> oh, much more.
>
> i didn't comment on it in my original quotation because i hear it (or
> read it) so often.
>
> arnold
>
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