BS: Reward Bankers and Punish Students....

Subject: RE: BS: Reward Bankers and Punish Students....
From: Lizzie Cornish 1
Date: 03 Feb 10 - 02:24 PM

Reward Bankers and Punish Students....
From: Lox - PM
Date: 01 Feb 10 - 02:15 PM

"How the hell is this country ever going to build itself a sustainable future if it can't invest in its future.

Meanwhile, city bonuses and house prices are flying back up to unsustainable levels, and WE are paying off the debt for money that WE lent THEM to get them out of a hole.

And now that we've bailed them out, are they doing anything to help us out in return?

Are they Fuck!"


Blimey, Lox...You're startin' to sound just like me! LOL :0)

Subject: RE: BS: Reward Bankers and Punish Students....
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 03 Feb 10 - 11:28 AM

How come we have 'quartered' and 'halved', but not 'thirded' or 'fifthed'?

Because if we did Caesar would not have said that the whole of Gaul was quartered into three seperate halves.

:D

Subject: RE: BS: Reward Bankers and Punish Students....
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 03 Feb 10 - 11:13 AM

Thanks Dave, now I understand perfectly!
Still prefer 'summitted' though! :-) :-)

Subject: RE: BS: Reward Bankers and Punish Students....
From: artbrooks
Date: 02 Feb 10 - 07:12 PM

I am far from an expert on either the UK's educational system or the need (actual or perceived) for university graduates there, but there seems to have been an inflation of what is considered minimum educational requirements for many occupations in the US in recent years. For example, office clerks (if they had formal training at all) once went to a business school for a year or so - now they are expected to have a four-year degree in secretarial science. Auto mechanics must have, at a minimum, a two-year degree rather than leaving school, going to work, and learning on the job. Occupational Therapy (my wife's profession) now requires a Master's degree rather than a Bachelors to start.

Granted that this results in a delay in people entering the job market, and thus a decrease in the levels of unemployment ("I'm not unemployed, I'm in school.") and an increase in the jobs available for teachers and educational bureaucrats, but it also results in a decrease in the numbers earning and paying taxes rather than being supported by someone else.

Subject: RE: BS: Reward Bankers and Punish Students....
From: Acorn4
Date: 02 Feb 10 - 06:45 PM

I think the thread neeeds broadening to "Reward bankers and punish anyone who is weak, vulnerable and unable to stand up for themselves." Perhaps we should get back to this rather than discussing points of ggrammar?

Subject: RE: BS: Reward Bankers and Punish Students....
From: Uncle_DaveO
Date: 02 Feb 10 - 06:37 PM

Backwoodsman, the rule for doubling a final consonant goes like this:

When adding a suffix that begins with a vowel to a one-syllable word which ends in a single consonant preceded by a single vowel, (or a multi-syllable word, the last syllable of which is accented), double the final consonant.

The purpose of doubling the final consonant is to avoid turning the preceding vowel from a short to a long vowel sound.

In this case we're talking about a word (summit) a word the last syllable of which is NOT accented, "SUM-it". Adding "ed" or "ing" does not turn the "i" from "ih" to "eye".

Now if the word in question were "submit", the rule would apply differently because it is pronounced "sub-MIT", so to avoid changing the "ih" sound to "eye", as in "mite", we double the "t" in "submit".

Dave Oesterreich

Subject: RE: BS: Reward Bankers and Punish Students....
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 02 Feb 10 - 03:25 PM

Summit as a verb is in the Oxford Dictionary; in common use for at least 40 years. Examples of 'summiting' in the OED spelled with one 't'. Submitting with 'tt'?; 'tt' in submitting but I don't know which would be preferable with summit (v.).

Subject: RE: BS: Reward Bankers and Punish Students....
From: theleveller
Date: 02 Feb 10 - 03:03 PM

Or euphemism even - fingers got a bit over-excited there and did their own thing!

Subject: RE: BS: Reward Bankers and Punish Students....
From: Smokey.
Date: 02 Feb 10 - 03:02 PM

How come we have 'quartered' and 'halved', but not 'thirded' or 'fifthed'? Or should that be 'fifted'? (a little known mediaeval perversion)

Subject: RE: BS: Reward Bankers and Punish Students....
From: theleveller
Date: 02 Feb 10 - 03:01 PM

"Summited" - isn't that an American euphonism for reaching orgasm?

Subject: RE: BS: Reward Bankers and Punish Students....
From: mousethief
Date: 02 Feb 10 - 02:12 PM

My absolutely favourite words are words that pundits hate. Summited. Summited. Summited. Ah, such sweet savour in the mouth.

O..O
=o=

Subject: RE: BS: Reward Bankers and Punish Students....
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 02 Feb 10 - 10:50 AM

I prefer 'summitted'. When spelled with only one 't' is looks to me as though it should be pronounced 'sum-eye-ted'.
IMHO. YMMV.

Subject: RE: BS: Reward Bankers and Punish Students....
From: Uncle_DaveO
Date: 02 Feb 10 - 09:42 AM

One of the marked characteristics of English as a language is that (almost?) any part of speech may be used as any other part of speech. In this case, the noun "summit" has been used as a verb, either transitive or intransitive, in mountaineering or in international politics.   

"Summited" is a word. I recognize that you don't like that word, but it is a word. I'm not fond of it, myself, but it's a conventional sound/writing symbol which is present and used on a fairly common basis. That's what a word is, and even without the "fairly common" usage--that is, if that symbol had just been invented ten minutes ago by one individual writer, for a one-time use, it's still a word. Maybe an untraditional word, maybe an ugly word, maybe an awkward word, maybe a colloquial or slangy or informal word, but a word nonetheless.

This reminds me of the saying I used to hear in perhaps second grade and after, "'Ain't' ain't a word." Or "'Ain't' ain't in the dictionary." Of course "ain't" is a word, and it makes no difference whether it's in "the dictionary". One could, in those days, find a particular dictionary that didn't list it, and you might find such even today, but that doesn't change the fact that it's a well-established, common word in the language.

You don't like "summited"? Don't use it.

Dave Oesterreich

Subject: RE: BS: Reward Bankers and Punish Students....
From: theleveller
Date: 02 Feb 10 - 03:23 AM

Well, this is obviously delighting the reactionaries like John MacKenzie who appear to believe that unemployment is a better option than a university education, except for an elite minority who can afford to buy a place into Oxbridge. Personally, I believe that denying a third of all people who want a university education the opportunity to have one is scandalous - and if the ultra-elitist Conservatives get into power it will only get worse. Bloody Thatcher all over again!

Despite Mr MacKenzie's fatuous comments, university is not an easy option. Students have to meet strict criteria of achievement or they're out. Nor is it easy for parents who have to fund their offspring. My own son is in his second term at uni and we have discovered that his student loan nowhere near covers his costs, with the result that we will have to find somewhere in the region of £20,000 over his 3-year course to make up the shortfall - something that is putting a huge strain on our finances. Unlike Mr MacKenzie, however, we belive in education, not just as vocational training, but as an important part of personal development. We also believe that it should be available on demand, like the health service - but that's another story......

Subject: RE: BS: Reward Bankers and Punish Students....
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 02 Feb 10 - 03:07 AM

Professional mountain climbers need to learn to speak proper English then Ebbie :)
Summit is a noun, summitted is a made up word which has come into regular use. It is claimed to be the past tense of summit, as in to 'summit' a mountain [sic]
However it's not good grammar, and as I said it's a noun. Remember the mantra.

"Is there no noun that cannot be verbed?"

J :)

Subject: RE: BS: Reward Bankers and Punish Students....
From: Smedley
Date: 01 Feb 10 - 05:49 PM

I thought that's what you meant by 'spurious universities. I misunderstood.

Subject: RE: BS: Reward Bankers and Punish Students....
From: Ebbie
Date: 01 Feb 10 - 05:45 PM

"...summited is not a word,"

Tell that to the professional mountain climber, John. :)

Subject: RE: BS: Reward Bankers and Punish Students....
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 01 Feb 10 - 04:22 PM

Agreed, never said it wasn't

Subject: RE: BS: Reward Bankers and Punish Students....
From: Smedley
Date: 01 Feb 10 - 04:15 PM

The big change/expansion in British universities, when the category of 'polytechnics' disappeared, happened under John Major's Tory government, well before New Labour.

Subject: RE: BS: Reward Bankers and Punish Students....
From: gnu
Date: 01 Feb 10 - 02:54 PM

And a mindless game.

Subject: RE: BS: Reward Bankers and Punish Students....
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 01 Feb 10 - 02:48 PM

While agree with you about the bankers [rhyming slang] I am somewhat ambivalent about the cutting of the education budget.
In recent years, technical colleges have transmogrified into universities, and people who can't even spell properly, string a sentence together, or tell that summited is not a word, are offered the prospect of a degree.
It has been a big con trick by the government, and in my mind, somewhat akin to the French government hiding their unemployed figures by conscripting men into the army at a wage of about 1 Euro a day, which is what they used to do.
The accusation of 3 million unemployed became a stick to beat previous Conservative governments with. If New [?] Labour hadn't invented these spurious universities, and a system of non failure of all exams. Then they would find the real unemployment figures, far in excess of the 3 million they so loved to sling at the opposition.
Politics is all a mind game.

Subject: BS: Reward Bankers and Punish Students....
From: Lox
Date: 01 Feb 10 - 02:15 PM

How the hell is this country ever going to build itself a sustainable future if it can't invest in its future.

Meanwhile, city bonuses and house prices are flying back up to unsustainable levels, and WE are paying off the debt for money that WE lent THEM to get them out of a hole.

And now that we've bailed them out, are they doing anything to help us out in return?

Are they Fuck!


I know ... we can cut the education budget ....