 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
| HomeDiscussion GroupsEnglish UsageBritish EnglishESL Teaching Learnglish.com Contact UsLink To UsSearch & Site Map |
Discussion Groups / English Usage / February 2007More on Pres. Truman's middle name/initial
The following is extracted from http://en.wikipedia.org/?title=Talk:Harry_S._Truman : >And mine - having only a middle initial is not the same as having a one-letter middle name. >Since it is an initial, it should have a period. The fact that Truman joked about treating it as a >name is something of a confirmation that it isn't. Perhaps more importantly, the presidential >library is named after "Harry S. Truman", as is the aircraft carrier. The point could be argued >endlessly, but official usage seems to include a period. Since the point seems likely to come >up again, I've restored the link between the controversial character and the explanation >further down the page. toh This is exactly what I want to know. *How* does having only a middle initial differ from having a one-letter middle name? And why was Truman *joking* when he said that the "S" was a name, not an initial? Those folks who insist that the form "Harry S. Truman" is incorrect obviously must feel that the use of a period implies at least one more letter to the name after the initial. Tell me, at least, why so many printed books call the "S" in his name an initial, even though they are perfectly aware that the letter did not stand for any name. daniel mcgrath  SignatureDaniel Gerard McGrath, a/k/a "Govende": for e-mail replace "invalid" with "com" Developmentally disabled; has Autism (Pervasive Developmental Disorder), Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, & periodic bouts of depression. [This signature is under construction.] On Feb 27, 10:35 am, Daniel al-Autistiqui <govend...@hotmail.invalid> wrote: [snip] > Tell me, at least, why so many printed books call the "S" in his name > an initial, even though they are perfectly aware that the letter did > not stand for any name. [snip] The letter did double duty for two names, Solomon and Shippe; see: "...Dad owed the middle initial in his name to both grandparents. To placate their touchy elders, his parents added an _S_, but studiously refrained from deciding whether it stood for Solomon or Shippe..." Margaret Truman, _Harry S. Truman_ (NY Wm Morrow, 1973), p. 46. Truman's parents added a period after his one-letter second name, or initial -- what's legally established is the entry on the birth certificate, and the law doesn't care whether people call that an initial or a second name with a period added (H*Y*M*A*N K*A*P*L*A*N is from a novel about a legal name that had punctuation included.) That there is a period on the document is borne out by the title of Margaret's book. If we had something with official standing like a French Academy, we might be able to get an official ruling whether Truman's name includes a second name with a period, or an initial, but we don't, and you don't have that standing, which leaves authors quite free to call it an initial IMO. Aloha ~~~ Ozzie Maland ~~~ San Diego > On Feb 27, 10:35 am, Daniel al-Autistiqui <govend...@hotmail.invalid> > wrote: [quoted text clipped - 24 lines] > > Aloha ~~~ Ozzie Maland ~~~ San Diego The 'E' in Alfred E. Neuman didn't stand for anything either, as far as I know. Richard Lichten > On Feb 27, 10:35 am, Daniel al-Autistiqui <govend...@hotmail.invalid> > wrote: [quoted text clipped - 30 lines] > > Aloha ~~~ Ozzie Maland ~~~ San Diego. I have a son whose middle name is an initial with a period. So named for similar reasons as Truman it would seem. It is recorded officially on his birth certificate. So, speaking from personal experience, I would say that the joke about name/initial is that for his whole life my son is condemned to explaining why he has filled out Official Form with just an initial when Official Form *clearly* states Full Name is required. He then has to go into his speech about how the Initial-with-period is his middle name, not an initial. I daresay Truman's experience would have been similar, thus the joke > have a son whose middle name is an initial with a period. So named >for similar reasons as Truman it would seem. When you say 'it would seem'. Does that mean you don't know why you gave him a middle initial instead of a name? Richard Lichten > > have a son whose middle name is an initial with a period. So named > >for similar reasons as Truman it would seem. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > Richard Lichten No. He's just whipped. He didn't decide his son's name, of course. The wife gets to do that and he needn't know her reasons. > > > have a son whose middle name is an initial with a period. So named > > >for similar reasons as Truman it would seem. [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > No. He's just whipped. He didn't decide his son's name, of course. The > wife gets to do that and he needn't know her reasons. He? I haven't met the name Narelle before, but it looks more like a woman's name than a man's. athel > > > > have a son whose middle name is an initial with a period. So named > > > >for similar reasons as Truman it would seem. [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > > athel You just beat me to it Athel. Richard [ ... ] > > He? I haven't met the name Narelle before, but it looks more like a > > woman's name than a man's. > > > athel > > You just beat me to it Athel. That happens to me all the time. a. > > > > have a son whose middle name is an initial with a period. So named > > > >for similar reasons as Truman it would seem. [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > > athel Why would a woman not know why her son had a kinky name? A whipped wife? Can such things be? I think Narelle's the last name. But let's wait and see. >>>> have a son whose middle name is an initial with a period. So >>>> named for similar reasons as Truman it would seem. [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > He? I haven't met the name Narelle before, but it looks more like a > woman's name than a man's. Actually, we have met Rello before, and she is a lady poster. http://groups.google.ca/group/alt.usage.english/browse_thread/thread/cd434fcd06b fd246/2c7b48beec012257?lnk=gst&q=Rello&rnum=1&hl=en#2c7b48beec012257 or http://tinyurl.com/yo8ccf . For some reason, you have to scroll up. On Feb 27, 7:35 pm, Daniel al-Autistiqui <govend...@hotmail.invalid> wrote: [ ... ] > Those folks who insist that the form "Harry S. Truman" is incorrect > obviously must feel that the use of a period implies at least one more [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > an initial, even though they are perfectly aware that the letter did > not stand for any name. I'm not sure this is actually true. Many years ago (in the 1950s, probably) I read a story to the effect that the leaders of the Swinomish tribe invited him to take the name Swinomish as his middle name, and he agreed to do this. I haven't found an authoritative confirmation of this story, but googling for "Harry Swinomish Truman" yields 58 pages (a surprising proportion of which are in Catalan ("Per oposar-se a la política de Josif Stalin, el president dels EUA Harry Swinomish Truman crida Europa a unificar-se sota l'autoritat nord- americana per ..."), oddly enough), suggesting that I didn't just imagine it. athel |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2012 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.