[tz] "time zone" vs "timezone" in documentation

[Brian Inglis]

On 2018-06-22 12:52, Robert Elz wrote:
> Working out when an expression formed out of two words has turned into
> a new word is always something of a black art - yet it happens all the time.
> 
> Consider cutthroat or bullshit - clearly words these days, but not always.
> Or more relevantly perhaps, timecard, timepiece or timetable.
> 
> Whether timezone, timestamp, or filesystem have reached that state yet
> or not isn't clear - personally, I think they have (and without any wishy
> washy "a timezone is a technical thing in tzdb and time zone is an area
> with a common offset from UTC (for some period)".
> 
> It is also worth noting that the way the transition happens, is for people
> to simply start writing (and saying, though I think that's definitely
> already happened for the cases in question) the word pair as a single
> word and ignoring the "that's not correct" criticism. 

Regardless of any trends in particular English dialects, international projects
(and mailing lists) should try to stick to
	https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_English
in a more formal register and avoid cultural jargon from dialects, using two
words where the term could be translated, and eliminating the separation where
translation should not be applied.

> In my early schooldays (another one) I was taught that the digit '0' was
> definitely not 'Oh' (that's a letter) and nor was it "zero" (that's American
> invented nonsense) but a "nought".   I can't even imagine the last time I
> heard anyone use that though (decades ago).  The language is continually
> changing, and we all need to keep up, and not persist in "I was taught..."

English sports broadcasts still use "nil" for scores, and I have heard the
occasional anachronistic "nought"; the cricket term "duck" also seems old, and I
cring at the American jargon neologism "bagel", which is not even in the article
	https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_for_the_number_0_in_English

-- 
Take care. Thanks, Brian Inglis, Calgary, Alberta, Canada