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Re: punctuated abbreviations // was english spelling reform

From:Christophe Grandsire <christophe.grandsire@...>
Date:Sunday, October 20, 2002, 19:13
En réponse à Yoon Ha Lee <yl112@...>:

> > (Hey, it's not my fault the convention doesn't accommodate > independent-minded women *or* Koreans.) >
Or cases when the man takes the name of the wife! :)) Vey rare in Western countries I know, but in France for instance it's an official possibility (actually, in France you don't "take" the name of your husband or wife, but get a right of use of their name. But you always keep your original name. That's by law. The practice is unfortunately quite different). It actually comes from one couple, who really wanted the name of the woman to stay in the line (at a time when the wife taking the name of her husband was mandatory). The fame of the name and its bearers made that the law was adapted quite quickly. The name was Curie, the woman was Irène Curie, daughter of Pierre and Marie Curie, and the husband, Frédéric Joliot, was more than willing to wear such a famous name :)) . That's why when they married, the became known as Frédéric and Irène Joliot-Curie (the time was not ready to abandon completely the husband's name yet ;)) ). This situation makes all the conventions about the use of Mr. and Mrs. walking on their head :)) .
> > I like common sense, honesty and decency. This makes me forever > ineligible for public office.--H.L. Mencken >
You know that this citation fits perfectly the current political situation in the Netherlands?! :)) And the name "Mencken" could be a Dutch name (I asked my friend, but although he does know a "Mencken", he's not sure it's this one). Christophe. http://rainbow.conlang.free.fr Take your life as a movie: do not let anybody else play the leading role.

Replies

taliesin the storyteller <taliesin@...>Naming customs (was Re: punctuated abbreviations)
John Cowan <jcowan@...>