Re: CHAT: new names (was: Re: Bopomofo and pinyin)

At 1:10 pm -0800 21/1/00, Barry Garcia wrote:
[....]
>Well, if we're translating names :), "Grey" or just "Gray" in
Just "Gray"?  The standard spelling of the plain old adjective in Britain
is 'grey' - and I believe it's the more common spelling in the anglophone
world outside of the USA.

I'd thought the Americans always spelt the color as "gray" - but the
exchanges in this thread have made me wonder if I'm not as mistaken over
this as I was over 'gotten' versus 'got'.

It was interesting to note that Clinton is using the spelling 'Grey' in
changing his name to 'Aiden Grey'.  Over here in little ol' Britain, when
used as a surname it's nearly always "Gray".
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At 2:58 pm -0700 21/1/00, Aidan Grey wrote:
[....]
>    In Tokana, we'd go with Hiem - the color really does have a bluish tinge.
>Sometimes described as glas in Old Irish or Welsh.
Yep - still much used in Welsh for the grey-blue color of, e.g. slate.  Tho
it's mainly used of blues and even the green of grass - but most other
greens are 'gwyrdd'    :)
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At 11:13 pm -0800 21/1/00, DOUGLAS KOLLER wrote:
>> > I wish I could change my name so easily -
[snip]
>
>I toyed with this idea briefly ten years ago, and the understanding I had
>was that in NY and MA, as long as you weren't deliberately trying to defraud
>people, you could just start using any old name you wished.
..or even any new name, I guess - another case where New England (or at
least part of it) behaves like Old England  :-)

Ray.


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A mind which thinks at its own expense
will always interfere with language.
                   [J.G. Hamann 1760]
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