Speaking of usage issues ...
I mentioned The Chicago Manual of Style's online Q&A a couple of posts back. Well, today I saw this on the BBC Website: "Canada is the second largest country in the world after Russia."
This sort of phrasing has always bothered me. Isn't it equally true to just say: "Canada is the largest country in the world after Russia"?
And if it's true to just say "largest," with the qualifier that follows, isn't it equally true to then say "first largest," like so: "Canada is the first largest country in the world after Russia." And, so, aren't "first" and "second" therefore equivalent?
Norman, coordinate! :)
The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site
Posted by Rob on Saturday, February 03, 2007
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2 comments
2 Comments:
That always bothers me too. Are all three statements correct? I always thought saying Canada is the second largest after Russia implies that Russia is second and Canada would be second if not for Russia, but I'm probably wrong about that. All three sentences probably say the exact same thing, which is weird.
The original statement is incorrect as written. It should say, "Canada is the second largest country in the world, after Russia." Without the comma, you'd have to say, "Canada is the largest country in the world after Russia. That avoids the problem of Canada being simultaneously the second and third largest country in the world. And poor Norman can stop beeping. :)
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