Subject: Re: language question

From: [email-masked] (Dave E Woon)
Date: Fri, 26 Feb 1993 21:34:24 -0800

>From "Amo, Amas, Amat and More (How to Use Latin to Your Own Advantage

ET AL.

abbreviation of "et alii," "et aliae," "et alia"

This abbreviation is used in writing to avoid a lengthy listing. "Et
alii" (et AH-lee-ee) is masculine, so it is properly used in speech to
mean "and other men" when preceded by the name of a male or to mean "and
other people."  "Et aliae: (AH-lee-i) is feminine, so it is properly
used in speech to mean "and other women."  "Et alia" (AH-lee-ah) is
neuter, so it is properly used in speech to mean "and other things."
Educated people do not pronounce the abbreviation et al.  "And others"
is said for et al.

====

As you say, it doesn't relate much to computational chemistry, so I'm
responding to you via email only.  However, one of my pet peeves regards
the pronuciation of "ab initio," another bit of Latin which is also
discussed in the book "Amo, Amas, Amat and More."  Some people say "ab"
to rhyme with the American "cab", others use "ahb" to rhyme with "cob,"
but "initio" is invariably pronounce "ih-NIHSH-ee-oh."  To use "ahb" is
more correct Latin, but then NIHSH is wrong:  according to the book,
it's "ih-NIH-tee-oh."  No "SH" at all...

David Woon
Molecular Science Research Center
Battelle Pacific Northwest Labs
Richland, Washington