"detectorist" / "detectionist"

[Joel S. Berson]

At 4/20/2011 07:05 PM, George Thompson wrote:
>Well, I had read this at first wondering "what the hell is a
>planting tree"?  The commas just siggest the pauses and changes in
>pitch that would make this unambiguous if a spoken statement.

I didn't mean to be critical, rather to apologize.  I too momentarily
wondered what "planting trees" were, but I had the advantage of
additional context.  And we must transcribe accurately, mustn't we?  :-)

Joel


>GAT
>
>George A. Thompson
>Author of A Documentary History of "The African Theatre",
>Northwestern Univ. Pr., 1998, but nothing much lately.  Working on a
>new edition, though.
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
>Date: Wednesday, April 20, 2011 2:21 pm
>Subject: Re: "detectorist" / "detectionist"
>To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>
> > Some of us don't love commas and hyphens as much as George does.  (I
> > know that's true because "some" means "one or more" ... and I'm one
> > of us.)  Perhaps if I had made known the antecedent for "his" by
> > inserting after it "[marriage band (aka wedding ring)]"?
> >
> > Joel
> >
> > At 4/20/2011 12:27 PM, George Thompson wrote:
> > >JSB: From an email message today:  "My husband lost his planting
> > >trees about fifteen years ago and a metal detectorist failed to find
> > it."
> > >
> > >I suppose this is to be punctuated as
> > >"My husband lost his, planting trees, about fifteen years ago, and a
> > >metal detectorist failed to find it."
> > >
> > >and not "My husband lost his planting-trees about fifteen years ago,
> > >and a metal detectorist failed to find it."
> > >
> > >Thus punctuated by those of us who love commas and hyphens, that is.
> > >
> > >GAT
> > >
> > >George A. Thompson
> > >Author of A Documentary History of "The African Theatre",
> > >Northwestern Univ. Pr., 1998, but nothing much lately.  Working on a
> > >new edition, though.
> > >
> > >----- Original Message -----
> > >From: "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
> > >Date: Wednesday, April 20, 2011 11:25 am
> > >Subject: "detectorist" / "detectionist"
> > >To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> > >
> > > >  From an email message today:  "My husband lost his planting trees
> > > > about fifteen years ago and a metal detectorist failed to find it."
> > > >
> > > > "Detectorist" is in the OED, as "A person who engages in
> > > > metal-detecting. Cf. metal detectorist n."
> > > >
> > > > However, my weak eyes and easily deceived brain led me to look for
> > > > "detectionist", which is not in the OED -- but is apparently
> > > > sanctioned in Galveston:
> > > >
> > > > The only result that a search of his name turned up was a description
> > > > of the Galveston Metal Detectionist League's September 2000 meeting,
> > > > at which Redman had been a guest speaker on the topic of "US
> > > > government regulations concerning abandoned property vs.
> > > concealed property."
> > > >
> > > > In Nothing Happened and Then It Did: A Chronicle in Fact and Fiction
> > > > - Page 97, by Jake Silverstein - 2010.
> > > >
> > > > Whether this is fact or fiction, whether there is or is not a
> > > > "Galveston Metal Detectionist League," I do not know.
> > > >
> > > > Google Books gives me about 89 hits for "detectionist", some
> > > > indicating that there is a "detectionist thesis" -- and of course
> > > > therefore an "anti-detectionist explanation".  One uses
> > > > "detectionist" as "detective".
> > > >
> > > > Joel
> > > >
> > > > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > > > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> > >
> > >------------------------------------------------------------
> > >The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
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