Re: USAGE: I'd rather (was: Re: Journalists)

On 6/27/07, Jeff Rollin <jeff.rollin@...> wrote:
> In the last episode, (On Wednesday 11 Tamuz 5767 13:33:06), Carsten Becker
> wrote:
> > Hi,
> >
> > On Wed, 27 Jun 2007 03:17:09 -0700, Sai Emrys <sai@...> wrote:
> > >For various reasons, I'd rather that not be public information until
> >                       ^^^^^^^^^^
> > >after the conference.
> >
> > I understand what it means, but I've never come across this construction in
> > 9 years of studying English at school, except I think in Shakespeare. Is
> > this some colloquialism or archaism (like 'methinks' AIUI)? After all,
> I've heard it quite regularly in British English, and certainly use it a lot,
> though my idiolect may be overly formal. I'd say it (the phrase) is more
> formal than informal. It may be passing into the "jocular and archaic" phase,
> as with "methinks".
It doesn't seem formal to me -- at least, contrasting it with certain
alternatives, "I'd rather not go" seems less formal than "I'd prefer
not to go", but a little more formal (or more polite because less abrupt)
than "I don't want to go".

--
Jim Henry
http://www.pobox.com/~jimhenry