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Subject:Incidents vs. Incidencies From:Harold Snyder <ENSNYDER -at- ECUVM1 -dot- BITNET> Date:Tue, 6 Jun 1995 13:25:09 EDT
It seems to me that what we have here is a usage problem and not a problem
that deals with spelling.
_Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary_ (p. 609) defines incidence as
"b: rate of occurrence or influence" and incident as "2a: an occurrence of
an action or situation that is a separate unit of experience."
Thus, to use Scott's example:
"The incidence of crime for the three cities was 2 percent" is correct.
but
"The incidences of crime for the three cities were 2 percent, 3 percent,
and 1.5 percent" could be improved to "The incidence of crime for the
three cities was..." which is neither needlessly redundant not using
the English language improperly (two negatives don't necessarily make a
positive, does it?).
Good luck,
Hal
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+ Hal Snyder, Professor of English | Technical Editing; Business, +
+ Dept. of English (GCB 2115) | Scientific, and Technical Writing +
+ East Carolina University | ENSNYDER -at- ECUVM -dot- CIS -dot- ECU -dot- EDU +
+ Greenville, NC 27858-4353 | ENSNYDER -at- ECUVM1 or Voice 919/328-6669 +
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