Diminishing returns

Add comment March 16th, 2009

After the entry about “nonprofit,” I was asked about “not-for-profit.”

There is no difference in meaning. If you look up “not-for-profit” in Webster’s, you’ll find a one-word definition: “nonprofit.”

According to “Garner’s Modern American Usage,” “nonprofit” is more common but “not-for-profit” is gaining ground. The thought is that the latter is more accurate, because such entities generally DO make profits but then use them for charitable purposes.

It’s a fine distinction, one I’m not sure is worth the extra keystrokes and two hyphens. But at least it’s better than the term Garner says is preferred in British English: “non-profit-making.” I looked that one up online and found all variations, with and without hyphens and even as two words: “nonprofit making.”

I don’t see any real profit in replacing “nonprofit.”

Break the British habit

7 comments May 5th, 2008

Some Americans seem to have an inferiority complex when it comes to language and culture. We have been free of British rule for more than 200 years. We should be able to break away from British English, too.

For example, in American English the preferred spellings are “theater,” not “theatre,” and “center,” not “centre.” The British spellings are OK in proper names — our own MetroCentre, for instance — because a name is what it is. Even so, some people might detect a whiff of pretension.

The same goes for pronouncing the first syllable of “either” with a long “i” sound instead of a long “e,” or “aunt” to rhyme with “taunt” rather than saying “ant.” These also are vestiges of British English.

Such affectations are most popular in New England, where the region still has “England” in its name, for crying out loud!