Re: USAGE: YAEUT: "proper"

Mark J. Reed wrote:
> On Mon, Jan 12, 2009 at 7:01 PM, Eldin Raigmore
> <eldin_raigmore@...> wrote:
>> What about a teacher telling a class,
>> "Everyone get back to your proper seat!"
>
> Sounds a bit stilted.  But in any case, is not synonymous with
>
>> "Everyone get back to your own seat!"
>
> over here.  Instead, "proper" is interpreted as "appropriate",
> "correct", etc. That interpretation hopefully yields the same seat as
> "own", but ownership is not implied.
As one born & brought up in the UK, my understanding of "proper" and
"own" agrees exactly with Mark's explanation. I have never used "proper"
in the same sense as French 'propre', i.e. "own"; for me "own" implies
'ownership' (obviously!), but "proper" means that its 'appropriate',
'correct' for whatever reason. I also agree that "Everyone get back to
your proper seat!" sounds somewhat stilted & formal.


--
Ray
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CENEDL HEB IAITH, CENEDL HEB GALON.
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[Welsh proverb]

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