At,
May I offer you a small suggestion for better communicating with us on
this list?
Please stop trying to create words in English. I know that Afrikaans is
your native language. So isn't it presumptuous of you to try to invent
English word usage -- and then to lecture us on why you did so?
A case in point: You write "Is learning our earnest?" In this syntax,
"earnest" must be a noun. It is not (in the meaning you ascribe to it.)
It is an adjective. The only noun form of "earnest" used commonly is in
the phrase "earnest money" (which has a completely different derivation:
from Old French, from Latin, from Greek, from Hebrew -- "to pledge.")
This makes for a very awkward phrase -- and an unnecessary impediment to
communication. And you must also waste our time, and yours, with a
lengthy explanation of why you chose it.
If you seek an English word for some concept, why not just describe it and
ask us for our suggestions (that's a form of dialogue, is it not?)
In this case perhaps you might have used: "Is learning our earnest
intent?"
--"John Gunkler" <jgunkler@sprintmail.com>
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>