In looking up a word online (I was puzzled as to why OpenOffice accepted “dialog” as a viable spelling but not “dialogue”), I stumbled across an interesting usage note:
Usage Note: In recent years the verb sense of dialogue meaning “to engage in an informal exchange of views” has been revived, particularly with reference to communication between parties in institutional or political contexts. Although Shakespeare, Coleridge, and Carlyle used it, this usage today is widely regarded as jargon or bureaucratese. Ninety-eight percent of the Usage Panel rejects the sentence Critics have charged that the department was remiss in not trying to dialogue with representatives of the community before hiring the new officers.
I’m all for revival of archaic forms of words, but I guess this rejection makes sense. It’s also led me to find out that both the American Heritage Dictionary and Merriam-Webster have entries for “bureaucratese,” yet Google is still oblivious to this.
Also, if you are considering ever using the word “dialogue” in any sense in the future, please heed this:
dialogue
c.1225, “literary work consisting of a conversation between two or more people,” from O.Fr. dialoge, from L. dialogus, from Gk. dialogos, related to dialogesthai “converse,” from dia- “across” + legein “speak” (see lecture). Sense broadened to “a conversation” 1401. Mistaken belief that it can only mean “conversation between two persons” is from confusion of dia- and di-.
It really bothers me when people try to correct me for using “dialogue” to refer to a discussion among many people.
Actually I’ve always seen “dialogue” as more of a Brittish way of spelling the word and “dialog” as its American variant. In words like color, colour, neighbour, neighbor, theater, theatre etc, the simpler spelling is always the American one. And it’s not surprising at all.
And Brittish is actually spelt British. One t. I fail.
This why I have country-of-origin flags! You are absolved of any transgression.
Unfortunately AHD just lists under its definition for dialog “Variant of dialogue.” Oh really? Thanks so much, I really learned something there.
This thread certainly seems to support your argument, though. I myself tend to agree with xwb over here:
Yeah, that sounds about right.
Hmm…yeah, I have to say I agree with that little quote.
Might change my way of spelling concerning these things as well.
As for my spelling error, I am so not absolved of my transgressions in English. I’ve been dealing with the language for too long (even writing poetry/prose in it) for me to still have the foreigner’s excuse.
That’s it; you’ve inspired me to do a Wednesday’s Word on this issue.
Sir, I am honored. And you know what? Maybe I’ll take up the Friday Random Ten meme, too. I need memes to keep me posting. I shall gather up a bushel from my blogroll and and kludge them together in a semblance of online communicative regularity.
@Impos: I use that disk/disc distinction based on orthographic differences, i.e. if the item looks round, like a CD, I spell it “disc.” I don’t think there’s a set rule about it, but I would die by that practice.
Language quirks are definitely a personal thing – and very amusing, I might add.
Generally speaking, a “disk” is a magnetic medium, and a “disc” is an optical medium. Strange differentiation, but that’s how it’s come about.
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