h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Ah, maturity! What was that? I forget!

I really don't like all those smileys made of punctuation marks and letters.

But h2g2's lil' pics are just so nice!

Now, the expression "later on "; I have been asked by a German guy what makes it different from just "later". And I can't think of a single example where the word "on" is necessary.

Help!

Isn't 'later on' more definite? it requires qualification. I will see you later on today/in the week/this month, is much more definite that I will see you later. Or perhaps it isn't! Later, on its own, means simply 'at another time'. Silly language!

I for one will have to think about the 'on' in 'later on'.
I'm not sure it matters if it is or isn't required (like so much of our language). Perhaps this would be a difficult concept for a person of German origin ?

I've thought about 'on'.
All the sentences where is can be used *sound* better (to me) with 'on'.
I have a feeling 'later on' is a bit more specific as to how much later - as in a shortening of 'later on this morning', 'later on today'. I know 'later this morning' and 'later today' are perfectly valid alternatives, but they sound less friendly, more dismissive to me. Am I imagining this ? Am I completely round the twist ? Help !!

At tea time you can say "We'll save this one for Ron..... Later Ron"

I don't think there is any difference between later and later on. I think one sounds more formal than the other because you yourself use the other.

Trillian's Child,

Is the conversation system of h2g2 not working, if you have to post a question related to Navajo on the British English conversation before it gets noticed?

I did actually see the original conversation and answer it as far as I could, before I saw your comment here.

Gnomon

Looking over at the other conversations list. I frequently see the irony thread up there. Now why is it that irony has the r sound pronounced but iron doesn't?

Formal? I'm not convinced. And Pheroneous, "on" could be deleted from all your examples and still mean exactly the same.

I'll pop back later to see if anyone has come up with a convincing explanation.

Then I'll pop back later on.

Ooh, clever me! That might just be the example I'm looking for.

Ironic comes from a Latin word ironia and is pronounced the way it looks.

Iron is from an old English word, isern. This changed to the present pronunciation "eye-urn" by dropping the "s", but somewhere along the way it was mispelled as "iron". It should be "iorn". Despite the mispelling, the pronunciation "eye-urn" continued, right up to the point where the accent in the south of England started to not pronounce the letter "r" when after a vowel and before a consonant. Hence "eye-uhn". In other dialects such as Irish and American, the r is still pronounce just before the n.

Some places actually pronounce the word as "eye-ron", but this based on the assumption that it is pronounced the way it is spelled.

So, pronounce Irn, as in Irn Bru then, clever clogs!

You are right and wrong, K. Yes the 'on' is unnecessary, even in your example, but it does, slightly, alter the meaning. Perhaps. A bit. Maybe.

There are other 4-letter words which present pronunciation problems in certain places ... film springs to mind. Some people (mostly Irish ?) say filum.
Is this to do with the origin of film ? What *is* the origin of film ?

Irish people's pronunciation (and usage) of English is largely due to the different rules of pronunciation which applied in Irish.
Thus, since "Colm" is pronounced "Collum" it follows that film would be pronounced filum.
This also explains the much immitated pronuciation of th_ as t_ ("tree tings" for "three things") as in Irish a consonant starting a word is nearly always hard.
That said, I don't know what the origin of the word film is, so that could also come into it....

(Aside: I notice we are moving inexorably towards the third millennium. Shouldn't we build a big white dome or giant wheel, or something?

Not the third millennium - its now 1AD, (where AD stands for Anno Dome n' Eye )

Duncan, despite living in Ireland, is not quite as Irish as the Irish themselves yet. His explanation of the Irish "dis ting" is not quite right.

Gaelic, the Irish language, has two t sounds. One is very similar to the normal "t" in English. This causes no problems. The other is formed by putting the tongue at the back of the teeth. Irish use this latter sound for "th" when pronouncing English. Unfortunately, because this sound does not exist in British English, English people do not hear the difference between it and "t", so it sounds as if the Irish are saying "dis ting". To an Irish person the two sounds are completely different.

Interesting point, Gnomon. Quite a few languages have sounds which native English speakers confuse.

However, it doesn't explain why the Irish don't just pronounce 'th' - I'm sure they can.

Actually, I'm not sure at all.

This is probably not the place to discuss the Irish. Much and all as we love talking about ourselves, this forum was actually entitled British English when it started in the dim and distant past. The Irish are not British!

..and besides which, it is detracting from my "Anno Dome n' Eye" gag
*sulks*