Editing 2043: Boathouses and Houseboats
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
| − | Most English {{w|English compound|compound nouns}} can be constructed recursively. In many cases they are written ''open'' or ''spaced'' like "piano player" (a player of a piano.) But ''closed'' forms like "wallpaper" (paper | + | {{incomplete|BOTBOT or BOATBOAT is funny, but please also mention here the reason why this isn't complete - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} |
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| + | Most English {{w|English compound|compound nouns}} can be constructed recursively. In many cases they are written ''open'' or ''spaced'' like "piano player" (a player of a piano.) But ''closed'' forms like "wallpaper" (a paper on a wall) are not less common. | ||
[[Randall]] is engaging in creative linguistics again. This time he is humorously suggesting to use a consistent naming scheme for things holding other things, the same way we call a boat holding a house a houseboat. He is extending this to all combinations boats, houses and cars. This would, however, be somewhat impractical, as these names do not include why one thing is on an other, and are also sometimes ambiguous: a carcar can be a tow truck as much as a car carrier, and a househouse can be either an apartment (house in a house) or an apartment building (house containing houses). | [[Randall]] is engaging in creative linguistics again. This time he is humorously suggesting to use a consistent naming scheme for things holding other things, the same way we call a boat holding a house a houseboat. He is extending this to all combinations boats, houses and cars. This would, however, be somewhat impractical, as these names do not include why one thing is on an other, and are also sometimes ambiguous: a carcar can be a tow truck as much as a car carrier, and a househouse can be either an apartment (house in a house) or an apartment building (house containing houses). | ||
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Additionally, he is somewhat inconsistent in some parts of the chart. While the chart is supposed to show examples of neologistic compound words <x><y> that refer to a <y> that ''holds'' an <x>, rather than a <y> ''in'' an <x>. However, Randall's examples sometimes are those of the latter example. He proposes to call lifeboats, which are boats held by other boats, "boatboat", instead of using that to refer to boats holding other boats, such as floating drydocks. Additionally, it is established naval practice to refer to a boat which is carried by another vessel as a "ship's boat", and call any vessel that carries a boat a "ship". In other words, according to usual naval terminology, a "boatboat" is a contradiction in terms; it is either a "boatship", synonymous with ship and hence redundant, or a "shipboat", the ship's boat. "Apartment" is a similar case: an apartment is a house in a house, while a house that holds a house is an apartment building or apartment complex. (However, in the title text, Randall points out an <x><y> could also refer to a <y> in an <x>, similar to the lifeboat and apartment examples. Nevertheless, "lifeboat" and "apartment" do not fit with the rest of the items of the chart and disobey the rule annotated in the corner.) | Additionally, he is somewhat inconsistent in some parts of the chart. While the chart is supposed to show examples of neologistic compound words <x><y> that refer to a <y> that ''holds'' an <x>, rather than a <y> ''in'' an <x>. However, Randall's examples sometimes are those of the latter example. He proposes to call lifeboats, which are boats held by other boats, "boatboat", instead of using that to refer to boats holding other boats, such as floating drydocks. Additionally, it is established naval practice to refer to a boat which is carried by another vessel as a "ship's boat", and call any vessel that carries a boat a "ship". In other words, according to usual naval terminology, a "boatboat" is a contradiction in terms; it is either a "boatship", synonymous with ship and hence redundant, or a "shipboat", the ship's boat. "Apartment" is a similar case: an apartment is a house in a house, while a house that holds a house is an apartment building or apartment complex. (However, in the title text, Randall points out an <x><y> could also refer to a <y> in an <x>, similar to the lifeboat and apartment examples. Nevertheless, "lifeboat" and "apartment" do not fit with the rest of the items of the chart and disobey the rule annotated in the corner.) | ||
| − | + | The title text also mentions ''{{w|Bananaphone}}'', a song by Raffi Cavoukian. | |
{| class="wikitable" | {| class="wikitable" | ||
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| A truck that pulls or carries cars | | A truck that pulls or carries cars | ||
| A Car that holds a Car | | A Car that holds a Car | ||
| − | | | + | | A tow truck is too large to be considered a car |
| Carcar | | Carcar | ||
|- | |- | ||
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| A home that can be moved by a truck | | A home that can be moved by a truck | ||
| A Car that holds a House | | A Car that holds a House | ||
| − | | The term "mobile home" refers to the home that is moved by a separate vehicle, not to the vehicle that moves it. (If the home is self-propelled, then it is called | + | | The term "mobile home" refers to the home that is moved by a separate vehicle, not to the vehicle that moves it. (If the home is self-propelled, then it is called a recreational vehicle.) |
| Housecar | | Housecar | ||
|- | |- | ||
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| A home within a building that has been divided into separate living units | | A home within a building that has been divided into separate living units | ||
| A House that holds a House | | A House that holds a House | ||
| − | | The "apartment" is the individual home within the larger building, which is called an apartment | + | | The "apartment" is the individual home within the larger building, which is called an apartment house or an apartment complex |
| Househouse | | Househouse | ||
|- | |- | ||
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| A small boat carried on a ship, meant to be used to evacuate the larger ship, especially if it starts to sink or catches fire | | A small boat carried on a ship, meant to be used to evacuate the larger ship, especially if it starts to sink or catches fire | ||
| A Boat that holds a Boat | | A Boat that holds a Boat | ||
| − | | | + | | The "lifeboat" is the smaller vessel carried on the large one; it is not the larger vessel that carries the smaller one. And the larger vessel is usually a ship, not a boat. |
| Boatboat | | Boatboat | ||
|} | |} | ||
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==Trivia== | ==Trivia== | ||
| − | The first version of the comic image | + | The first version of the comic image mixed up the order of what holds what. The second word holds the first but at the original the opposite was told as it can be seen [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/archive/3/38/20180907164439%21boathouses_and_houseboats.png here]. |
{{comic discussion}} | {{comic discussion}} | ||
