Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site dual.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!ucbvax!dual!hav From: hav@dual.UUCP (Helen Anne Vigneau) Newsgroups: net.nlang Subject: Re: Name for part of speech Message-ID: <1053@dual.UUCP> Date: Wed, 17-Jul-85 20:16:26 EDT Article-I.D.: dual.1053 Posted: Wed Jul 17 20:16:26 1985 Date-Received: Thu, 18-Jul-85 08:15:27 EDT References: <480@mtunh.UUCP> Organization: Dual Systems, Berkeley, CA Lines: 54 /* I think this got eaten the first time, so here goes again . . . */ => I'm working on a paper and I need to know the word which describes => the calss of words which have no real function in the following context: => they are noise words inserted in the sentence to make it flow and sound => natural. They add no meaning or inflection. An example from computer => languages would be: => => find employee WHERE salary IS > 30000 a. WHERE. Idiomatic English would probably call for WHOSE, which is, of course, a possessive pronoun. b. IS. This is the verb of the dependent clause, "WHOSE/WHERE salary IS > 30000." => insert model INTO cartypes Preposition. => for $i IN 1 2 3 ... Preposition. => hand me my hat and MY coat Possessive pronoun. => if you run out of cash THEN write a check This drives me NUTS!!! I am a technical writer and can say that the THEN following an IF at the beginning of a sentence is a tell-tale sign that the sentence was written by a programmer. I edit the THEN out of everything upon which I am called to edit. It is superfluous, no doubt about it. => => The words concerned are written in caps. => (Ellision in computer languages may or may not be permitted.) => => What are these words called? => => Thanks in advance, => -- => Marcus Hand (mtunh!mgh) Helen Anne {ucbvax,ihnp4,cbosgd,hplabs,decwrl,unisoft,fortune,sun,nsc}!dual!hav If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music he hears, however measured or far away.