Re: the liaison between or the liaison among??

Subject: Re: the liaison between or the liaison among??
From: "Kathleen MacDowell" <kathleen -at- writefortheuser -dot- com>
To: "Peter Neilson" <neilson -at- windstream -dot- net>
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2008 09:47:52 -0500

I think between is for two groups/items, among is for more than two.
This was supported by a google for among vs between (one of the few
times I've ever thought of doing so :-). E.g.

http://www.englishforums.com/English/AmongVsBetween/dvxcx/post.htm

So the appropriate term would be among, in just about any way the
statement is written, unless you do a comparison of each pair (a and
b, a and c, ...:-)

Regards,

Kathleen

On Thu, Oct 16, 2008 at 9:27 AM, Peter Neilson <neilson -at- windstream -dot- net> wrote:
> Hemstreet, Deborah wrote:
>> Should I write:
>>
>> The X Dept. serves as the liaison between a, b, c, and d.
>> OR
>> The X Dept. serves as the liaison among a, b, c, and d.
>
> First of all, it probably doesn't. More likely it gets in the way, or at
> least introduces noise. (We know from your previous writings that the
> place has room for improvement. But then so does everything, even you
> and me.)
>
> Secondly, when faced with a choice like that, you probably need a
> different statement. You could turn it inside out, something like this:
> "A, B, C and D use the X Dept not only to make coffee and to shake the
> toner in the laser printer, but also to resolve conflicts that may arise
> between any of those departments."
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--
Kathleen MacDowell
www.writefortheuser.com
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

ComponentOne Doc-To-Help gives you everything you need to author and
publish quality Help, Web, and print content. Perfect for technical
authors, developers, and policy writers. Download a FREE trial.
http://www.componentone.com/DocToHelp/

True single source, conditional content, PDF export, modular help.
Help & Manual is the most powerful authoring tool for technical
documentation. Boost your productivity! http://www.helpandmanual.com

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Follow-Ups:

References:
the liaison between or the liaison among??: From: Hemstreet, Deborah
Re: the liaison between or the liaison among??: From: Peter Neilson

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