The World Beyond BetterMost > The Culture Tent
In the New Yorker...
Penthesilea:
--- Quote from: southendmd on January 12, 2011, 09:13:26 am ---I sense some confusion.
While it's true that in English, we refer to 1900-1999 as the "nineteen hundreds", we also refer to it as the "twentieth century".
So, something occurring in the 1770s can be said to be in the "seventeen hundreds" (informally), but it is the "eighteenth century" (ordinally).
--- End quote ---
You're right, I confused it indeed.
I understand the difference between talking about the nineteen hundreds (same as the seventies) and the twentieth century. Thanks for pointing it out. :) I had the above wrong. And my memory may be wrong about Brits counting as I stated above. They may have ineed talked aobut the "seventeen hundreds" and not the "seventeenth century" when talkling about 1701 - 1800.
But what I can bet on is that I learned at school that in English you have to count the centuries differently, as I stated above.
Of course, just because I learned it at school doesn't mean it has to be correct. After all, I also learned that there is no plural of chicken: one chicken - two chicken. ::) And I'm not the only one. My online dictionary discussion forum is full of Germans stating there is no plural to the word chicken, and native speakers arguing differently. :laugh:
But maybe, maybe, this could be a BE/AE difference?
Jeff Wrangler:
--- Quote from: southendmd on January 12, 2011, 09:13:26 am ---I sense some confusion.
While it's true that in English, we refer to 1900-1999 as the "nineteen hundreds", we also refer to it as the "twentieth century".
So, something occurring in the 1770s can be said to be in the "seventeen hundreds" (informally), but it is the "eighteenth century" (ordinally).
--- End quote ---
Agreed.
As we reckon time, the First Century of our era consisted of the years A.D. 1 through A.D. 100. Consequently, the Second Century was the years A.D. 101 through A.D. 200, and so forth and so on, so that the years 1701--1800 were the Eighteenth Century. Folks may remember this caused a lot of confusion a decade (!) ago over when the Twenty-first Century began, A.D. 2000 or A.D. 2001; it began January 1, 2001.
So I'm afraid Toobin wasn't being "informal"; he was just being wrong in his century--though I would add that my experience is that his error is not uncommon.
Having said all this, I will also add that despite all the reading I've done in Renaissance history, when somebody gets fancy and speaks or writes of the Italian Quattrocento (sp?), I'm still not sure if he or she is speaking of the Fourteenth Century (that is, the 1300s), or the 1400s (that is, the Fifteenth Century). :-\
serious crayons:
Yes, technically we should have partied like it was Dec. 31, 2000.
--- Quote from: Penthesilea on January 12, 2011, 10:03:46 am ---My online dictionary discussion forum is full of Germans stating there is no plural to the word chicken, and native speakers arguing differently. :laugh:
--- End quote ---
To me, two makes it chickens. But what about shrimp? Or fish? Or lox?
southendmd:
--- Quote from: Penthesilea on January 12, 2011, 10:03:46 am ---
Of course, just because I learned it at school doesn't mean it has to be correct. After all, I also learned that there is no plural of chicken: one chicken - two chicken. ::) And I'm not the only one. My online dictionary discussion forum is full of Germans stating there is no plural to the word chicken, and native speakers arguing differently. :laugh:
--- End quote ---
Don't count your chickens before they're hatched. :laugh:
--- Quote from: Jeff Wrangler on January 12, 2011, 10:11:11 am ---
Having said all this, I will also add that despite all the reading I've done in Renaissance history, when somebody gets fancy and speaks or writes of the Italian Quattrocento (sp?), I'm still not sure if he or she is speaking of the Fourteenth Century (that is, the 1300s), or the 1400s (that is, the Fifteenth Century). :-\
--- End quote ---
My Italian is minimal, but I believe quattrocento refers to the 1400s. There is a cute little shop in Florence called cose del novecento which meant "things from the 1900s".
Jeff Wrangler:
--- Quote from: crayonlicious on January 12, 2011, 10:55:48 am ---To me, two makes it chickens.
--- End quote ---
Yes, but what about in German? I'll have to wait till I get home tonight to check my Langenscheidt's.
--- Quote ---But what about shrimp? Or fish? Or lox?
--- End quote ---
Well, we do have Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea. ;D
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