On Tue, 11 Sep 2007 15:20:48 -0500, msg put
finger to keyboard and composed:

Greetings:

Just wondering when the confusing usages of diminutive names
crept into English (by the English), such as 'tranny' for
I presume transistor or perhaps transformer?, 'addy' for
I presume address, 'proggy' for I presume program ,etc.
In the U.S., the only usage of 'tranny' that I've ever heard
referred to the gearbox between the clutch and the driveshaft or
in more recent times it is a reference to transgendered people
Sometimes these terms make for genuine confusion as do
the multitude of country specific acronyms often seen in
postings. The shorthand for transistor in circles hereabouts
is simply 'Q' as in "we need to order that list of Q's, R's,
C's and D's."

I wonder how far aflung in the British Empire those usages
have spread?

As to other usages, it is quite disconcerting to see posts from
India which substitute the word 'doubt' for 'question', which
is so common now that one wonders if there isn't some etymological
issue at play there, as in "I have a doubt about these MOSFETS: what
is their rated Vgs?"

Anyone else with similar observations to add?

Regards,

Michael

How did "arse" become "ass"?

Why do Americans pronounce "solder" as "sodder"?

What happened to the "h" in "human" and "herb"?

Why do Aussies say Bazza/Gazza/Shazza when they mean
Barry/Garry/Sharon?

What is the point of Cockney rhyming slang?

Why do Kiwis say "sex" when they mean "six"?

Why do Chinese English speakers (for example in Singapore) say
"spoiled" when they mean "damaged" or "faulty"?

- Franc Zabkar
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