Date:  Tue, 16 Jan 1996 17:44:51 -0500

From:  "H Stephen STRAIGHT (Binghamton University,

     SUNY)" <sstraigh[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]BINGSUNS.CC.BINGHAMTON.EDU>

Subject: Re: -re



I'm curious to know whether I'm the only person in the world who

distinguishes the -er and -re spellings of theat-er/-re by using the

former to refer to the place (They're painting the marquee on the

theater.) and the latter to refer to the institution (They're creating new

ideas for the American theatre.). On this usage, the theatre

department/*theater department versus the theater manager/*theatre

manager.



    Best.     'Bye.      Steve

 H Stephen STRAIGHT Langs Across the Curric, Binghamton University (SUNY)

 NFLC Mellon Fellow, Jan-June 1996    VOX: 202-667-8100; FAX: 667-6907

 1619 Massachusetts Ave NW -- Fourth Floor      Washington, DC 20036

  <sstraigh[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]bingsuns.cc.binghamton.edu> ["sstraigh", not "sstraight"!]