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Re: [PATCH] manual: Fix the wording to "alternative" rather than "alternate"

On Wed, Jan 23, 2019 at 12:37 PM Carlos O'Donell <carlos@redhat.com> wrote:
> On 1/17/19 1:34 AM, TAMUKI Shoichi wrote:
> > ChangeLog:
> >
> >       * manual/time.texi (strftime): Fix the wording to "alternative" rather
> >       than "alternate".
>
> The crystal clear difference between alterate and alternative is somewhat
> lost in modern English.
>
> In the use below we see "alternate" as an adjective of the "representation"
> and so can mean "taking the place of." Like "I am the alternate steward if
> Joseph Myers is away."
>
> I think the original use of alternate is correct.

I wouldn't describe "alternate" as _wrong_ in this context, but POSIX
uses "alternative" consistently in the strftime specification, so I
think this change is desirable (and I already told Shoichi the patch
was pre-approved).

zw
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