Inquire/Enquire

[Anne Casey <anne -at- ERM -dot- OZ -dot- AU>]

Techwhirlers ~

I've been away, and I'm still trying to sort out the backlog;
but I thought I should summarize the feedback I had on this
question, especially since most of it was off-list.

I sort of assumed that people would look at my email address,
see that I live in Australia, note that the dictionary referred
to was an Oxford dictionary, and realise I was not asking for
*American* usage. Although it was interesting to discover yet
another point on which we differ.

I should point out that I did check two versions of the Oxford
dictionary. The pocket Oxford was clearer than the Australian
Concise Oxford; I was hoping that someone had an OED or a Shorter
Oxford for a more definitive answer. The Macquarie Dictionary
is our own 'home grown' dictionary; I should get a copy of that
too, when I get that 30% payrise you lot are all demanding ;-).

Several people politely quoted their Webster or
American Heritage dictionaries; neither are acceptable or even
available in Australia. But I thank them for their efforts.

One gentleman was quite rude on the subject, and insisted that
I was categorically wrong because his American Heritage dictionary
was the ultimate arbiter of the English language. Ah well, I suppose
the world contains all sorts :-(. Now if it had been called the
Australian Heritage, I might have been able to see his point (cue
here for the Canadians to thump the Yanks again). ;-)

I also received some well-considered replies discussing the differences
between US, UK and Australian language usage, and mostly agreeing with
me. This is an area that I'd like to go into further, as I write
documentation for an international audience, and while I usually
know the differences in usage, sometimes the little things slip past.

No one from the UK, Australia or New Zealand replied.

Thank you all for your help and advice,


Anne Casey
Techwriter from the end of the Internet