Date:    Wed, 24 Jun 1998 14:27:18 -0400
<br>From:    Bryan Gick <bgick[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]SAPIR.LING.YALE.EDU>
<br>Subject: incented to consult..
<br>
<br>First, thanks for all the replies on the apostrophe's. I was interested to
<br>see a bit more data supporting the [vowel]-'s observation...though, as is
<br>so often true, I don't feel much more in the know than before.
<br>
<br>Anyway, ll this talk about consulting reminds me of a possible "most
<br>unnecessary" candidate for this year that I've been keeping my eyes out
<br>for - one of the many such words to fall out of consultese (a dialect of
<br>businese?):
<br>
<br>A consultant friend relatively new to the business told me she was writing
<br>a business plan for her client. It generally received favorable reviews,
<br>except that at several points in the text the client insisted that she use
<br>the word "incent" (as in "PROPOSALS TO INCENT RENEGOTIATION," an example I
<br>since saw on the web: http://www.edisonx.com/html/news/press/pool.htm).
<br>This is apparently a pretty new standard term.
<br>Anybody have any thoughts on or experience with this one?
<br>
<br>(of course, this back-formation certainly has precedent in other verbs
<br>with nominal forms ending in -ive (collect/collective, relate/relative,
<br>etc.), and does offer the advantage of replacing the unwieldy construction
<br>"to provide/give/offer incentive," so I suppose it's not quite as
<br>unnecessary as it might be..).
<br>
<br>Bryan
<br>