Friday December 30, 2005
‘Historic’ versus ‘historical’
By FADZILAH AMIN
WHEN does one use “historic” and “historical”? Is there a difference between them? – Nicole Tan, Kuala Pilah
Yes, there is a difference between them. “Historical” means pertaining to history. Thus we can use the term in phrases such as “historical evidence” or “historical research”. One may even refer to someone as a “historical figure” (e.g. Tun Perak) as opposed to a “mythical figure” (e.g. Puteri Gunung Ledang).
“Historic” means of special interest or importance in history or likely to become so in the future. Here are some examples of its use:
1. “The proclamation of Malaya’s independence on 31 August 1957 was a historic event for this country.”
2. “The IRA is today expected to make a historic announcement that it has put all of its weapons beyond use.” (The Guardian, Sept 26)
3. “There are a few buildings in Melaka that are of historic significance.”
ONE reader’s question about the announcements on the KLIA Express reminds me of my own experiences.
The first was a few years ago aboard the KTM morning train from Kuala Lumpur to Johor Baru. When a train approached a station, a KTM official would announce after the Malay version: “Ladies and gentlemen, we will arriving (Seremban) Station ...”. This was repeated for every station.
I think the correct form should be “we will be arriving at (Seremban) Station”. I wonder whether KTM still uses the same wrong announcement.
The second experience was in Japan. Before reaching a station, passengers would hear a recorded announcement. The Japanese version was announced first before the English one like this: “Next station, Hakata Station. Passengers going for the Kagoshima line, please change here”. I think the word “change” seems odd. Should it be “transfer”? – Maarof Kassim
1. You are right. The announcement by KTM should be “Ladies and genteleman, we will be arriving at (Seremban) Station.”
2. I suppose the announcement on the Japanese train should begin with “The next station is Hakata Station.” However, it seems clear enough as it stands, although slightly ungrammatical.
As for the use of “change” in train announcements, that is done all the time on British trains. “Change” is much easier for our ears to catch than “transfer”, especially in a noisy and crowded train.
The word is also used in directions to get from one place to another, which involve changing train lines. The following is an excerpt from an online Guide to London:
From Gatwick Airport [to Camden Town]: Catch the Gatwick Express train to Victoria Station, then change to the Victoria Line of the London Underground. Change again at King’s Cross St Pancras to the Northern Line and take a train to Camden Town.
PLEASE help me with the usage of the word “pre-empt”. I was told it meant “predict”. I am quite doubtful about it. Please help. – Alex Tan
“Pre-empt” does not mean “predict”, but there is an element of anticipation in many senses of the word.
Different dictionaries define the word in different ways. I find the online Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary’s general definition of the word very clear.
Here it is, with an example of its use in a sentence:
“to do or say something before someone so that you make their words or actions unnecessary or ineffective”
E.g. “The minister held a press conference in order to pre-empt criticism in the newspapers.”
In the sentence, the minister anticipated criticism of him or his ministry in the newspapers, and so he held a press conference and probably explained a few things to the journalists present, with the hope of making such criticism unnecessary or ineffective.
The Concise Oxford Dictionary (1995) defines one sense of the word “pre-empt” as “to prevent (an attack) by disabling the enemy”.
This is a more specific application of the above definition, and is much used in the discussion of recent international events. One often hears nowadays of the rights or wrongs of a “pre-emptive strike/attack” on a country that is seen to be a threat to one’s country or one’s allies.
There are other meanings of “pre-empt”, but I won’t go into those here. None of them means simply “predict”.
USUALLY, “uninvited” is used as an adjective but can it be used as a verb?
I came across this interesting sentence: “Oprah uninvited him from her show.” I suppose it means that Oprah withdrew her earlier invitation to this person. Am I right? – P.S.
You are right. Strange though it may seem, this verb does exist in the English language, though it is seldom used.
The Oxford English Dictionary defines it as “to cancel or omit the invitation of (a person)”, and the earliest example it gives of its use is: “So I made them uninvite their guests.” (Pepys Diary, Nov 26, 1665).
The word is not marked as obsolete, so it’s still all right to use it.
RSS
